Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research he has commissioned on the role aid can play in promoting democracy in Burma.

Gareth Thomas: During the last year DFID has commissioned two research projects that examine the role that aid can play in promoting democracy in Burma.
	Firstly, the Burma Strategic Development Assessment (SDA), undertaken on behalf of a range of donors currently active in Burma, identifies barriers to the achievement of sustainable peace and a successful transition to democracy. The SDA concludes that international humanitarian assistance should both ensure that conflict is not exacerbated, and where possible, should contribute to the creation of the conditions necessary for a successful transition to democracy. Secondly, the Kataya (Burma Change) programme has researched a number of change processes in Burma to better understand how change happens, and how change could be influenced through development assistance.
	These two pieces of work suggest that there is an opportunity for donors to do more through their programmes to support peace-building and to help build the foundations of democracy in Burma. They suggest that donors should look to achieve humanitarian impact and to ensure that their programmes are conflict sensitive, but that they should also proactively seek opportunities to strengthen the key building blocks of democracy such as local accountability and local participation in decision making, through initiatives bringing together a range of Burmese partners (particularly from civil society, but also possibly the media, the private sector and local government). We are now considering how best this approach could be put into action.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of aidin the form of  (a) food,  (b) medical supplies and (c) shelter is being supplied to internally displaced Karen, Shan and Karenni people in Burma through mechanisms inside the country.

Gareth Thomas: In October 2005, the Thai Burma Border Consortium estimated that there were 540,000 displaced people in Eastern Burma. Of these, 340,000 were living in ceasefire areas; 108,000 were in State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) relocation sites; and 92,000 were hiding in conflict areas. DFID's approach to providing assistance to these IDPs has been to work inside Burma—including assistance through local civil society groups (DFID has established effective relationships with a range of ethnic minority and other groups), through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and by trying to improve access to displaced people to benefit from our project activities. These are not the only mechanisms through which donors can help (many, for example, fund cross-border teams operating from Thailand) but they enable access to IDPs who would not be reached by any other means, and through mechanisms which are much less-well supported by other donors.
	However, these extremely vulnerable people are very difficult to access—both cross-border from Thailand and from inside Burma—and there are currently no comprehensive figures on how much aid reaches them. We are in discussion with groups both inside and outside Burma to try to identify how we can increase the amount of assistance that reaches displaced people and we will be reviewing the nature of our own support before the end of the year.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what budget he expects to be allocated to Burma in each year between 2006 and 2009.

Gareth Thomas: The following budgets have been allocated to DFID's bilateral programme in Burma:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 7.5 
			 2006-07 8.0 
			 2007-08 8.0 
		
	
	In addition to this bilateral programme, approximately 18 per cent. of the EC's programme in Burma can be attributed to UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) through the UK's annual contribution. Over the past five years, the average of this amount has been £7.5 million.
	The budget for 2008-09 has not yet been allocated.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of internally displaced people in Burma can be reached by aid delivered inside the country.

Gareth Thomas: Internally-displaced people in Burma are not a homogeneous group. In October 2005, the Thai-Burma Border Consortium, a Thailand-based non-governmental organisation which receives DFID funding, estimated that the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in eastern Burma was at least 540,000. This comprised approximately 340,000 people in temporary settlements in ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities, 108,000 villagers who had been evicted by the Burmese Government and moved into designated relocation sites and 92,000 civilians hiding from the Burmese Army in areas most affected by armed conflict. The recent military offensive against the Karen people has swelled the number of civilians hiding in conflict areas by as many as 18,000.
	DFID provides assistance to IDPs through a number of different routes within Burma. DFID's provision of emergency assistance to IDPs hiding in conflict areas is through local community groups inside Burma. DFID's support to IDPs in temporary settlements in ceasefire areas in eastern Burma is through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to which we provide £500,000 a year, of which approximately 75 per cent. is attributable to work with displaced people in this area. In addition, our health, education and rural livelihood projects provide assistance in eastern Burma, and support internally displaced people in temporary settlements and designated relocation sites, as well as other vulnerable people.
	It is not possible to provide an estimate of the percentage of IDPs in Burma who can be reached by aid delivered inside the country. This is primarily because it is extremely difficult to gather reliable statistics about the demographics of the population in Burma and often of the origin of project beneficiaries. We believe that it is not currently possible to reach all IDPs either cross-border from Thailand or from inside Burma—and that each approach enables access to IDPs who would not be reached by any other means.

Indonesia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much non-financial assistance the Government have pledged to Indonesia in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.

Gareth Thomas: DFID sent two humanitarian specialists to Yogyakarta within 48 hours of the earthquake to undertake a rapid assessment of the situation. The field team gathered first hand information that allowed us to identify critical needs of the affected population. DFID funds were then quickly allocated. Our field team worked with the multilateral organisations and other donors especially in the affected areas to facilitate a comprehensive response.
	DFID's Jakarta office supported the field team by liaising with donors and relief agencies based in Jakarta to gather information on others' plans and assessments. In addition, we were able to provide urgent relief in the immediate aftermath of the disaster through local NGOs, co-ordinated by DFID staff from a forestry project based in the affected area. With this support, volunteers organised by the DFID project provided sustenance, shelter and basic household equipment to thousands of people.

Indonesia

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he had with  (a) agencies capable of large-scale infrastructure projects,  (b) aid agencies and  (c) non-governmental organisations in relation to the Indonesian earthquake relief effort.

Gareth Thomas: DFID staff based in Indonesia have maintained close contact with agencies capable of large-scale infrastructure projects, primarily the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, in considering the case for a UK contribution to the long-term reconstruction effort. We are now actively discussing with these agencies practical options for supporting the reconstruction of housing, which was particularly badly hit by the earthquake.
	In addition, DFID staff have held regular discussions with a wide range of other aid agencies and NGOs, both local and international, in assessing needs and co-ordinating responses to the earthquake. These discussions were crucial in informing the allocation of the five million so far committed by DFID to the humanitarian relief phase of the disaster.

Inter-American Development Bank

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's funding for South America in 2006-07 is being channelled through the Inter-American Development Bank.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's main financial contribution to Latin America (South and Central America) is through our contributions to multi-lateral organisations working in the region such as the European Commission, and the concessional lending of the Inter America Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank. There is no replenishment of the IADB's concessional lending fund in 2006-07. However, the UK has agreed to commit£2 million this year to the IADB administered Multilateral Investment Fund, which provides financial assistance primarily through grants.
	DFID's bilateral programme in Latin America is£12 million in 2006-07. An additional £7 million per year is provided through six international NGOs (OXFAM, CARE, CAFOD, HIV/AIDS Alliance, WWF and Christian Aid) for work with civil society. DFID also provides assistance through centrally managed programmes (research and the Civil Society Challenge Fund) and through debt relief. DFID works with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on the Global Conflict Prevention Pool for Latin America.
	In 2005, DFID established the Markets and Governance for Poverty Reduction Trust Fund with the IADB, with funding of £1,200,000 planned for 2006-07. The IADB has also established a Trade and Poverty Trust Fund, with DFID funding of £200,000 in 2006-07. A further £400,000 will be provide through the ENLACE trust fund, which tackles social exclusion in Central America.

Millennium Development Goal

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to seek agreement to a specific millennium development goal which focuses on disability.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The Government believe that disabled people must be included in efforts to reduce poverty and achieve the internationally agreed millennium development goals (MDGs). We recognise that the needs of disabled people must be addressed across all the MDGs to ensure their achievement in an inclusive manner.
	The Department for International Development's (DFID) approach to disability is set out in an Issues Paper—"Disability, Poverty and Development"—published in 2000; copies of which have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. DFID seeks to take account of disability issues across all its activities, as well as supporting a specific range of activities to empower disabled people. In September 2005, DFID also published a policy paper on social exclusion, entitled "Reducing Poverty by tackling Social Exclusion"; again, copies of this document have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. This sets out actions that DFID is taking, or plans to take, to tackle the social exclusion faced by many poor people, including disabled people, to make a real difference to their lives.
	The Government are actively supporting the drafting of a United Nations International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The purpose ofthe convention is to enable disabled people across the world to have the same access to human rights protection as non-disabled people. If the convention is adopted, it will enable governments to be called to account for their record on protecting disabled people from human rights abuses and help raise the profile of disability issues worldwide.
	DFID also seeks to work with our international partners—including UN agencies, the World Bank and partner governments—to gain further support for tackling issues of disability and other forms of social exclusion. However, we do not believe this requires the creation of a new MDG and furthermore, it could also detract from efforts to mainstream disability issues across all the MDGs.

Bankrupt Farmers

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of farmers who went bankrupt in  (a) England,  (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Beverley and Holderness in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The department does not hold this information.

Beef Exports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long he expects it to take for British beef exports to reach their 1996 levels.

Barry Gardiner: The Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) estimate that in 2006 UK exports could be about 40,000 tonnes divided equally between prime beef and cow beef. There is also strong interest in exporting pedigree breeding stock and other cattle (including calves).
	However, it will of course take time to regain lost markets and to approach previous record export levels, which amounted to nearly £600 million for beef exports and £78 million for cattle in 1995.

CAP Reform

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, with particular reference to evaluating the advantages of nationalising resources.

Barry Gardiner: We want a CAP which enables EU farming to be internationally competitive without reliance on subsidy or protectionism, so that it is able to meet the challenges and reap the opportunities of globalisation.
	Farming should be rewarded by the market for its output of safe, quality food and by the taxpayer for delivering public benefits (such as environmental protection) which the market can't deliver. Major steps have been made recently in this direction but the cost of the CAP to consumers and taxpayers is still very high in relation to the public benefits which it delivers.
	The UK has long advocated reductions in CAP subsidy levels, the end of export subsidies, greater market access for developing countries, the removal of market distorting measures such as production quotas and greater transfer of CAP funding to schemes which bring environmental benefits.
	Whatever reforms are agreed to the CAP on the budgetary side, it is important that EU agriculture operates within a common policy framework which does not lead to trade distortion between member states. What we have called for is a review to see how the CAP can be reformed to deliver better value for EU citizens, reduce inefficiencies and remaining trade distortion and achieve a more competitive farm industry.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many agreements providing public access there were in each agreement year since the Countryside Stewardship Scheme's inception; and how many such agreements applied to land within two miles of  (a) an urban area and  (b) the coast in each year.

Barry Gardiner: Data is only available from 1998. The number of Countryside Stewardship Scheme agreements providing permissive public access in each scheme year since 1998 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1998 607 
			 1999 789 
			 2000 1,101 
			 2001 1,444 
			 2002 1,954 
			 2003 2,419 
			 2004 2,681 
		
	
	The answers to parts  (a) and  (b) could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to how many hectares of land agreements under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme which provided public access applied in each agreement year since the scheme's inception; and how many such agreements applied to land within two miles of  (a) an urban area and  (b) the coast in each year.

Barry Gardiner: Data is only available from 1998. The number of hectares of land under Countryside Stewardship Scheme agreements which provided public access since 1998 were as follows:
	
		
			   Hectares 
			 1998 7,633.54 
			 1999 9,926.14 
			 2000 11,991.90 
			 2001 9,650.07 
			 2002 8,669.26 
			 2003 8,406.88 
			 2004 7,608.83 
		
	
	The answers to parts  (a) and  (b) could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been provided under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for  (a) all agreements providing public access,  (b) all agreements providing public access within two miles of an urban area and  (c) all agreements providing public access within two miles of the coast in each agreement year since the scheme's inception; and how much such funding is planned to be provided in each future agreement year.

Barry Gardiner: Data is only available from 1998. The amount of funding that has been provided under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for all agreements providing public access since 1998 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1998 512,153.05 
			 1999 715,461.08 
			 2000 940,558.30 
			 2001 848,021.80 
		
	
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002 859,521.80 
			 2003 1,769,442.55 
			 2004 1,776,678.92 
		
	
	The answers to parts  (b) and  (c) could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Public access is only one of the objectives of the scheme. As funding will be allocated to the scheme as a whole rather than to individual objectives, it is not possible to confirm how much funding will be provided for public access specifically in future years. However, funding of existing agreements will continue until the end of their 10-year life-spans.

Criminal Offences Legislation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department since April 2005, broken down by Act.

Barry Gardiner: A comprehensive and exhaustive list of new offences created in all legislation sponsored by Defra since April 2005 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Much of the legislation is subordinate and regulatory in nature: some new offences have been created, some offences have been repealed and re-enacted; most of the offences relate to breach of the regulations or obstruction of officers enforcing the regulations. Many of the offence provisions relate to emergency legislation arising from the threat of avian influenza.
	I can however provide the following information on primary legislation which has created offences since April 2005.
	The Clean Neighbourhoods and EnvironmentAct 2005 (c.16) created the following offences:
	"nuisance parking" which is the selling or repairing of vehicles on a road by persons in business;
	breach of "dog control orders": in relation to specified land such orders may exclude dogs from the land, prohibit the fouling of the land, require dogs to be kept on leads when on the land or limit the number of dogs a person may take onto the specified land;
	in relation to certain premises in an "Alarm Notification Area" Part 7 of the Act created the offence of failing to nominate a key-holder where an audible intruder alarm is present.
	The Clean Neighbourhoods and EnvironmentAct 2005 also made many existing offences punishable by fixed penalty notices.
	The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c. 16) created the following offences:
	possession without reasonable excuse of certain pesticides harmful to wildlife (section 43);
	interfering with the vacated nests of certain birds such as the golden eagle and the osprey which habitually re-use their nests (section 47);
	selling any live captive-bred wild bird which has been lawfully released into the wild as part of a re-population or re-introduction programme (section 48);
	in relation to certain invasive non-native species such as the grey squirrel, ruddy duck or Japanese knotweed, selling any animal or plant, or eggs or seeds thereof (section 50);
	interfering with Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in various ways including interfering with the notices or signs relating to an SSSI.

Departmental Budget

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1818W, on the Departmental Budget, what the reason was for the change in the amount spent on advertising in 2005-06 from the amount in 2004-05.

Barry Gardiner: Media expenditure reverted back to realistic levels in 2004-05, and 2005-06. Centralised media expenditure in 2003-04 was noticeably less than previous and recent years, and reflected an uncharacteristic dip in total communications expenditure for that year. Defra underwent significant structural changes in 2003-04 which was the main reason for the temporary decline in expenditure, including:
	Changes in managing "statutory notice" advertising, which accounts for 83 per cent. of annual media spend. The change in process, and handover between agencies was reflected in minimal levels in advertising activity.
	Defra's branding being finalised during 2003-04. This impacted on advertising expenditure, as it is usual practice that when any brand is under review or under development, that advertising activity is minimised or even put on hold.

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any building in his Department falls short of disability access regulations.

Barry Gardiner: Defra, in recognising that as employers and service provider to the public they are subject to the duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, have previously undertaken extensive surveys and embarked upon improvement works in locations where the public have access to ensure compliance with the regulations. While the principle of reasonable adjustment is fundamental to the Act, Defra have adopted a proactive approach as is practicable.
	Additionally, significantly, buildings used solely by staff generally comply where it is "reasonable" so to do—where specific instances arise, adjustments are usually made.
	All new build projects are designed to ensure compliance with Part M of the Building Regulations.

Farming

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in the east of England have qualified for subsidies from the EU common agricultural policy fund, broken down by county.

Barry Gardiner: The single payment scheme is not administered on a regional basis so the Rural Payments Agency is not able to estimate how many applications were submitted by farmers living in the East of England.

Farming

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes there have been in the number of  (a) subsidies farmers may claim for and  (b) forms farmers have to submit to his Department in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 15 June 2006
	The most significant change has been the introduction of the single payment scheme which was introduced on1 January 2005 and replaced at least 11 direct payment schemes, which had previously existed under the European Common Agricultural Policy. It has brought the benefit of a single annual application form instead of a series of claim forms with different rules, deadlines and, in some cases, claiming frequencies.
	The launch of Environmental Stewardship in March 2005 took forward two of Defra's flagship schemes, countryside stewardship and environmentally sensitive areas. Environmental Stewardship has three strands, entry level stewardship is open to all in farming, organic entry level stewardship is available to those wishing to farm organically, and higher level stewardship provides more resource in return for more specific environmental benefits in high priority situations.
	In addition, Defra has made a commitment to reduce administrative burdens on farm businesses by 25 per cent. and we are undertaking a number of projects to look at the scope to consolidate and reduce the number of forms that farmers have to complete.
	For example, the whole farm approach is expected to significantly reduce the bureaucracy farmers currently face. By streamlining regulation and offering a range of innovative online services the whole process of dealing with Government will become more efficient and user friendly—ultimately providing a range of benefits that will help to support a sustainable food and farming industry.

Farming

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department intends to make interim payments of the hill farming allowance to farmers whose claims have not been received in full by the end of May.

Barry Gardiner: Where Hill Farm Allowance payments will not have been made in full by the end of June, The Rural Payments Agency intends to make part payments based on those land areas that have been validated for payment. In many cases, this should represent the majority of the area claimed.

Farming

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons payments of the hill farming allowance to farmers on Exmoor have been delayed.

Barry Gardiner: In recent months the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has been prioritising the payment of Single Payment Scheme (SPS) claims. This has resulted in reduced processing resources being available for other schemes administered by RPA, including Hill Farm Allowance, and consequently claims are being paid later than in previous years.

Farming

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects farmers on Exmoor to receive their hill farming allowance.

Barry Gardiner: Hill Farm Allowance payments have now been made in full to 35 per cent. of eligible claimants. The Rural Payment Agency intends to make the remaining payments (or to make part payments where full payments are not possible) by the end of June.

Farming

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much land was given over to organic production in each region in each year since 1990; what the total land area under agricultural use was in each year; and what percentage of all agricultural land the former represented in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: The following tables shows areas of organic and in conversion land, total agricultural land and the percentage that organic land represents for all agricultural land. Figures for organic land are only available from 2003 onwards.
	
		
			  UK area of organic and in conversion land by region as a proportion of total agricultural area 
			   March 2003  January 2004 
			   Organic and in conversion area (ha)  Total agricultural area( 1 ) (ha)  Percentage of total agricultural area  Organic and in conversion area (ha)  Total agricultural area( 1 ) (ha)  Percentage of total agricultural area 
			 North East 27,748 581,903 4.8 28,883 580,296 5.0 
			 North West 22,804 883,952 2.6 22,507 897,417 2.5 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 9,225 1,093,249 0.8 9,754 1,096,226 0.9 
			 East Midlands 14,858 1,219,865 1.2 17,737 1,225,257 1.4 
			 West Midlands 29,401 927,970 3.2 29,180 942,592 3.1 
			 Eastern 11,893 1,471,058 0.8 12,672 1,458,963 0.9 
			 South West 96,059 1,765,745 5.4 97,159 1,801,559 5.4 
			 South East (Including London) 39,848 1,155,309 3.4 41,038 1,175,079 3.5 
			
			 England 251,836 9,099,052 2.8 258,930 9,177,389 2.8 
			 Wales 55,101 1,452,199 3.8 58,246 1,458,825 4.0 
			 Scotland 428,608 5,535,551 7.7 372,562 5,520,500 6.7 
			 Northern Ireland 5,629 1,067,262 0.5 5,882 1,073,887 0.5 
			
			 UK 741,174 17,154,064 4.3 695,619 17,212,512 4.0 
		
	
	
		
			   January 2005 
			   Organic and in conversion area (ha)  Total agricultural area( 1 ) (ha)  Percentage of total agricultural area 
			 North East 29,964 587,108 5.1 
			 North West 22,633 920,557 2.5 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 9,838 1,123,788 0.9 
			 East Midlands 14,609 1,239,185 1.2 
			 West Midlands 29,140 979,260 3.0 
			 Eastern 12,761 1,487,805 0.9 
			 South West 99,804 1,868,351 5.3 
			 South East (Including London) 40,623 1,213,992 3.3 
			 
			 England 259,372 9,420,046 2.8 
			 Wales 64,531 1,453,000 4.4 
			 Scotland 359,615 4,918,055 7.3 
			 Northern Ireland 6,750 1,033,194 0.7 
			 
			 UK 690,269 16,824,295 4.1 
			 (1) Excludes common grazing land.

GM Organisms

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of agricultural authorities from the new entrant countries into the EU about their policy on genetically modified organisms; and how many of those countries are permitting cultivation of GM food for export into the UK.

Ian Pearson: No DEFRA Ministers have had any recent bilateral discussions with representatives of agricultural authorities from the countries which joined the EU on 1 May 2004 about their policy on genetically modified (GM) organisms. However, periodic collective discussions are held, involving all EU member states.
	The EU regulatory regime permits the cultivation of only those GM crops which have received a prior EU approval for cultivation. Any approved GM crop so cultivated could then be traded within the internal market, including being exported to the UK . All new member states signed up to this regime when they joined the EU.

Ivory

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) import and  (b) export permits the UK has processed for ivory in each year since 1997; and what (i) the nature of the item and (ii) the country of (A) origin or (B) destination was in each case.

Barry Gardiner: The UK Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Management Authority has issued over 14,000 import, export or re-export permits in total since 1997. The number of each category of permit and the number of pieces of ivory involved are set out in the table.
	Because of the large number of permits, these figures cannot readily be broken down further into country of origin or destination. In most cases the country of origin is unknown, as the vast majority of applications are for antique ivory and there is no definitive proof to confirm whether the ivory is Indian or African, and even if African, which country it was originally taken from.
	
		
			   Item  Import permits  Number of pieces  Export permits  Number of pieces  Re-export permits  Number of pieces 
			 
			 1997 Carving 163 1,802 2 11 920 2,951 
			  Tusk 1 1 0 0 5 55 
			  Ivory pieces 1 1 0 0 2 33 
			 
			 1998 Carving 341 1,672 0 0 1,250 3,937 
			  Tusk 1 1 0 0 4 19 
			  Ivory pieces 0 0 0 0 1 4 
			 
			 1998 Carving 127 616 3 3 1,134 4,547 
			  Tusk 6 11 0 0 2 3 
			  Ivory pieces 0 0 0 0 3 3 
			 
			 2000 Carving 223 572 2 41 1,275 4,151 
			  Tusk 4 10 0 0 1 1 
			  Ivory pieces 0 0 0 0 2 3 
			 
			 2001 Carving 278 569 0 0 1,218 2,243 
			  Tusk 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			  Ivory pieces 3 5 0 0 2 2 
			 
			 2002 Carving 168 317 4 6 1,079 2,441 
			  Tusk 0 0 0 0 1 2 
			  Ivory pieces 4 5 0 0 1 2 
			 
			 2003 Carving 732 1,323 0 0 1,626 3,916 
			  Tusk 0 0 0 0 1 2 
			  Ivory pieces 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 
			 2004 Carving 318 971 0 0 1,258 5,139 
			  Tusk 2 2 0 0 1 1 
			  Ivory pieces 3 3 0 0 2 2 
			 
			 2005 Carving 441 845 1 1 1,689 7,520 
			  Tusk 8 10 0 0 2 2 
			  Ivory pieces 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 
			 2006 Carving 47 51 0 0 281 850 
			  Tusk 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Ivory pieces 0 0 0 0 0 0

Payment Schemes

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest Single Payment Scheme individual payment has been made to date; and whether these payments were correct.

Barry Gardiner: The highest and lowest Single Payment Scheme (SPS) payment made up to and including 8 June are:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Highest 2,242,892.10 
			 Lowest 0.01 
		
	
	These payment were correct based on information provided by the claimant and were calculated in accordance with the SPS EU regulation.
	The £0.01 payments are at the extreme end of where penalties apply on a sliding scale if, for example, people over claim on their land entitlements. A number of calculations are made to the entitlement value of a claim, for example 95 per cent. on entitlement value,5 per cent. for modulation and the final payable figure, at a low value in instances of high penalties, is subject to rounding.

Payment Schemes

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether, under Single Payment Scheme arrangements, farmers with common grazing rights are being notified of their individual share of commons allocation to enable them to check  (a) the methodology and accuracy of the apportionment between the various right-holders and  (b) the validity of the single payments made to them.

Barry Gardiner: Farmers are being notified of the hectarage of the common land which has been allocated to them based on the rights which they hold for the common. The calculation method is detailed on pages 14 and 15 of the 2005 SPS handbook and guidance. The vast majority of claimants making use of common land in support of their claim have now received a payment.

Payment Schemes

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Department will reply to the letters of  (a) 22 March and  (b) 21 April 2006 from the hon. Member for West Derbyshire on representations from the National Farmers Union in respect of the single farm payment scheme.

Barry Gardiner: The problems facing the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) in getting payments out to farmers has resulted in Ministers receiving over 350 letters from MPs relating to their constituents' problems caused by non-receipt of SPS payments.
	Changing policy developments, including most notably the change from 15 to 31 May in respect of the date for penalties for late 2006 applications and the introduction of partial payments, have led to regrettable delays in responding.
	Replies have been sent.

Payment Schemes

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of delays in the Single Payment Scheme on levels of stress among farmers.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 22 June 2006
	There has been no specific assessment of stress among farmers arising out of the timing of payments under the Single Payment Scheme. However, the Government do recognise that some farmers will have faced cash-flow problems and other hardships due to the timing of these payments. As such, an extra £115,000 in funding was made available to a number of key rural support organisations who deal with such issues.

Rural Payments Agency (Job Objectives)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what job objectives were set for the former Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency for  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06; and to what extent they were achieved.

Barry Gardiner: The job objectives set for the former Chief Executive of the RPA in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 mirrored the targets set for the Agency in the business plans for each of those years and reported on for 2003-04 and 2004-05 in the published annual report with accounts. The Library of the House possesses copies of all these documents.
	Each year the performance against targets of each of the Defra executive agencies is audited by Defra Internal Audit Division and the annual accounts are signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Assessment of chief executives' performance takes place once these checks have been carried out.
	In the light of these checks, the assessment for 2003-04 was that the RPA CE had achieved 91.6 per cent. of his objectives and the assessment for 2004-05 was that RPA CE had achieved 100 per cent. of his objectives. The checks for 2005-06 have not yet been completed.

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many working days have been lost to the Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Defra was created in June 2001, and the answer given relates to period since then.
	The most significant cause of staff absence is sickness. The average number of working days lost per employee due to sickness absence in full calendar years since the creation of Defra is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Department/agency  2002  2003  2004 
			 Defra 8.7 8.3 7.5 
			 CEFAS 5.2 7.2 6.2 
			 CSL 6.1 6.6 6.1 
			 PSD 6.4 5.4 6.7 
			 RPA 10.9 10.6 8.7 
			 VLA 8.0 8.4 8.2 
			 VMD 6.4 8.5 5.7 
		
	
	Data on sickness absences for 2005 is not yet available.
	The estimated total cost of sickness absence for Defra and its agencies each year is as follows:
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2002 9,116,000 
			 2003 9,580,000 
			 2004 8,983,000 
		
	
	These figures represent the average salary costs for the number of working days lost.
	The average number of working days lost per employee due to industrial action since 2001 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Department/agency  2001  2004  2005 
			 Defra 0.93 0.15 0.10 
			 CEFAS — 0.05 0.00 
			 CSL — 0.00 0.00 
			 PSD — 0.17 0.00 
			 RPA — 0.26 0.35 
			 VLA — 0.00 0.00 
			 VMD — 0.01 0.00 
		
	
	The figure given for 2001 covers Defra and the agencies. Individual figures for the agencies are not available. There were no days lost to industrial action in 2002 or 2003.
	Estimated cost figures for industrial action are not applicable since pay is stopped for the period of absence.

Staff Development

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost was of  (a) staff away days and  (b) staff team building exercises in his Department in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: Each business area within the core Department holds its own devolved learning and development budget which it uses to fund locally arranged training for its staff, including staff away days and team building exercises.
	The costs of locally funded staff away days and teambuilding events in each of the last three calendar years were:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Away days  Teambuilding events  Totals 
			 2003 43,659 44,162 87,821 
			 2004 79,930 71,705 151,635 
			 2005 84,721 71 ,093 155,814 
			 Total 208,310 186,960 395,270

A389 Kingsterswell Bypass

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has approved the construction of the A380 Kingsterswell bypass; and what funding has been allocated for the construction of the road.

Gillian Merron: The Department has not received a proposal for this scheme from Devon county council. We are currently considering the advice from the South West region on the priority it attaches to major transport schemes in the South West, including the Kingskerswell Bypass, within the indicative Regional Funding Allocation (RFA) for the region. We hope to announce our response to the region's advice before the parliamentary summer recess. Any schemes identified for funding from the RFAs will be subject to the Department's approval processes.

Aeroplanes (Air Quality)

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on contaminated air in airliners;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect on safety of contaminated air in airliners.

Gillian Merron: The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology did an investigation, which reported in November 2000 and said:
	"The absence of confirmed cases of tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) poisoning from cabin air and the very low levels of TOCP that would be found even in the highly unlikely worst case of contamination from oil leaking into the air supply lead us to conclude that the concerns about significant risk to the health of airline passengers and crew are not substantiated."
	There is also a scientific inquiry under way into the global evidence and have commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) based at Imperial College (and funded by Government to advise the Food Standards Agency and other Government Departments) to review evidence from BALPA (the British Air Line Pilots Association).
	The COT secretariat put up on its website on 21 June a draft discussion paper. It will discuss this with BALPA further on 26 June, and then there will be a full hearing, in public, which will take place on 11 July.
	The next step is to wait for the COT review process to be completed. The Government will be guided by the COT conclusions and recommendations on the way forward.

Bus Journeys

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to help local councils and bus companies devise innovative ways of increasing the number of bus journeys, including by providing further Government funding; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: There are already a number of programmes in place that help councils and bus companies devise innovative ways of increasing bus patronage.
	Councils have been able to apply for Kickstart and Rural/Urban Bus Challenge funding to pump-prime bus services that have the potential to increase patronage. DfT awarded £20 million for Kickstart schemes in 2005-06 to fund 43 bus services that could become self-sustaining. Between 1998 and 2003 the Rural and Urban Bus Challenge supported over 400 projects at a cost of £163 million.
	In addition, the Government have provided£350 million for 2006-07 and a further £367.5 million for 2007-08 to fund free off-peak local bus travel for people aged 60 and over and disabled people. Thiswill be extended further to national bus travel from April 2008, for which the Treasury has earmarked up to an additional £250 million per year.
	Also, all bus operators receive Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) which provides a rebate of about 80 per cent. of the duty paid by them on the fuel they use, with 100 per cent. rebate for environmentally friendly fuels. The budget for BSOG in England for 2005-06 was £380 million.
	The Transport Innovation Fund is a new approach to transport investment which is not geared to particular modes, but will support measures which help to tackle congestion and promote national productivity. Up to £200 million of the fund has been made available specifically to support packages of measures that will address congestion in towns and cities through demand management and public transport improvements, including better bus services.

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any building in his Department falls short of disability access regulations.

Gillian Merron: Audits have been conducted at our buildings to ensure that we are complying with our responsibilities under the employment and service provider provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). Reasonable adjustments have been made at a number of locations (including our main HQ building) and further improvement work is in hand at some sites.
	Information on the extent to which each building is complying with the employment and service provider provisions of the DDA is not collected centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Flag Flying

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  on how many days since May 1997 theSt. George's flag has been flown from his Department's buildings;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on flying the  (a) St. George's flag and  (b) EU flag from departmental buildings.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issue the guidance for flying flags on Government buildings. This includes flying the St. George's flag on St. George's day (23 April) and the European flag on Europe day (9 May) on buildings with two or more flag poles provided they are flown alongside the Union flag with the Union flag in the superior position.
	The Department's main HQ building has only one usable and accessible flag pole and therefore does not fly the St. George's flag or the European flag.

London Underground (Victoria Line)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Health and Safety Executive investigated the safety implications of the incident on the Victoria Line on the evenings of 29 and 30 May 2006 between Highbury and Finsbury Park; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) is the independent health and safety regulator for the railways, covering the safety of the travelling public and employees. HMRI was transferred from the Health and Safety Executive to the Office of Rail Regulation on 1 April 2006.
	The incident occurred when a northbound Victoria Line train was held in the tunnel between Highbury and Islington and Finsbury Park stations at around 00.30 am on Tuesday 30 May. This was the penultimate passenger service on the day. The problem required the traction current to be switched off and when repairs were completed normal passenger services had ceased and engineering hours started on the line. Delays then occurred as due to safety procedures the current could not be switched back on to move the train until it was confirmed that no workers were on the line. Eventually passengers were taken off the train and walked back to Highbury and Islington station before 03.00 am.
	HMRI and London Underground Ltd. (LUL) have both investigated this incident. LUL have now modified their procedures and decision-making processes, particularly for incidents within one-hour of engineering hours. This should ensure that protracted delays in detraining passengers do not occur in the future. HMRI will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these and other procedures which relate to the evacuation of passengers from trains.

Railways, North-West

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact of the SLC2 base level specification set out in the Cross Country Rail Franchise Consultation document of June on levels of rail usage in the North West.

Derek Twigg: The changes proposed in SLC2 are designed to allow longer trains to be operated on the busiest Cross Country routes. The changes also propose a new hourly service from Manchester to Bristol, which will benefit a large number of rail passengers.
	The service between Scotland and Birmingham via the West Coast Main Line will continue to operate at the same frequency but with faster journey times and at regular intervals with better connections. I expect this will lead to increased levels of rail usage.

Road Accidents

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) road accident fatalities and  (b) personal injury road accidents there were in(i) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and (ii) Suffolk in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents reported to the police, and the resulting fatalities, in the constituency of Bury St. Edmunds and the county of Suffolk from 1997 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are given in the table.
	
		
			  Accidents and Fatalities in Bury St. Edmunds constituency and Suffolk, 1997-2004 
			   Fatalities  Accidents 
			   Bury St. Edmunds  Suffolk  Bury St. Edmunds  Suffolk 
			 1997 8 43 332 2,224 
			 1998 3 23 326 2,251 
			 1999 8 48 285 2,298 
			 2000 10 56 352 2,312 
			 2001 6 53 321 2,356 
			 2002 7 43 299 2,300 
			 2003 8 60 333 2,341 
			 2004 5 42 301 2,220 
			 (1) The accidents in the table are those that occurred in the 2004 boundaries for Bury St. Edmunds constituency.

Traffic Growth (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assumptions about traffic growth up to 2021 are being used by his Department in discussions with the growth areas directorate in the Department for Communities and Local Government on housing expansion in the Peterborough Unitary authority area.

Gillian Merron: The East of England Spatial Strategy which has recently been subject to examination in public following a period of consultation, will provide the overall framework for assessing and planning housing and other growth across the East of England region including Peterborough up to 2021. In that context it is for the local authority to develop detailed forecasts of traffic growth and reflect this in their local transport plans and local delivery frameworks.

A New Deal for Welfare

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the basis was for the Government's calculation in the Green Paper. 'A New Deal for Welfare' that reaching an 80 per cent. employment rate would require getting one million people off incapacity benefit and one million more people over 50 years and 300,000 lone parents into work.

Jim Murphy: As we set out in the Department's Five Year Strategy and in the Green Paper "A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work", we have a long-term aim of reaching employment equivalent to 80 per cent. of the working age population. In order to achieve this we will reduce by one million the number on incapacity benefits, help 300,000 lone parents into work and increase by one million the number of older workers.
	Because 80 per cent. employment is relative to the size of the future population, the total required increase in employment is dependent on population projections, which are revised regularly. Using the latest Government Actuary's Department projections, employment would now need to increase by more than 2.5 million in order to achieve 80 per cent. in the long term. This is because the Government Actuary's Department has increased their projection of the "working age" population.
	We are currently considering the implications of this population change. However, our long-term aim of80 per cent. employment is unaffected, and the commitments in the Green Paper to reduce by one million the number on incapacity benefits, help 300,000 lone parents into work and increase by one million the number of older workers will still be delivered.

Benefit Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the scale of identity fraud in relation to social security benefits; how many of his Department's staff have been involved in identity fraud since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: DWP estimates £20 to £50 million of benefit fraud arises as a result of identity fraud (that is, claiming benefit in false identities).
	The information requested on the number of staff involved specifically in identity fraud is not available.

Benefit Payments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the level of fraud and error in percentage terms for  (a) child benefit,  (b) income support,  (c) incapacity benefit,  (d) disability living allowance,  (e) jobseeker's allowance,  (f) housing benefit,  (g) pension credit and  (h) council tax benefit.

James Plaskitt: The most recent available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimates of overpayments as a percentage of benefit expenditure 
			   Percentage 
			 Income support 5.3 
			 Incapacity benefit 1.2 
			 Disability living allowance 9.1 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 6.0 
			 Housing benefit 5.2 
			 Pension credit 4.6 
			 Council tax benefit 4.9 
			  Notes:1. All figures are overpayments expressed as a proportion of expenditure for that benefit and are rounded to the nearest 0.1 per cent. They are based on sampling exercises and so are subject to sampling and other uncertainties. Sampling uncertainty is expressed in the form of confidence intervals?these have not been provided in these tables.2. Income support, jobseeker's allowance and pension credit figures come from the National Statistics report "Fraud and error in Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Pension Credit from April 2004 to March 2005: Full report", published more recently than the 2004-05 DWP Resource Account.3. Disability living allowance fraud and error figures come from the National Statistics report "Fraud, error and other incorrectness in Disability Living Allowance" covering the period 2004-05. The 'customer error' overpayment figure includes around £580 million (7.9 per cent. of DLA expenditure) which was removed when reported in the Departmental Resource Account. These were cases where the change in customer's needs may have been so gradual that it would be unreasonable to expect them to know at which point their entitlement to DLA might have changed. These cases do not result in a recoverable overpayment as we cannot quantify or define when the customer's change occurred. Because legislation requires the Secretary of State to prove that entitlement to DLA is incorrect, rather than requiring the customer to inform us that their needs have changed, cases in this subcategory are legally correct.4. Incapacity benefit estimates from the 2004-05 DWP Resource Account. Fraud and customer error estimates from April 2000 to March 2001, official error from April 2003 to March 2004.5. Housing benefit estimates from the National Statistics report "Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit April 2002 to March 2005". They are made up of reviews of around 85 per cent. of HB expenditure (used for measuring performance against the relevant PSA target to reduce fraud and error in HB) combined with more approximate estimates of error in the remaining 15 per cent. of expenditure. For further details on this, please see the relevant National Statistics reports.6. Council tax benefit estimates from the 2004-05 DWP Resource Account. Council tax benefit has not been measured by the Department and was assumed to have the same levels of fraud and error as the latest housing benefit estimates available at the time (October 2003 to September 2004).7. Child benefit is administered by HM Revenue and Customs and is a matter for HM Treasury.

Benefit Recipients

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workers from the EU accession countries are claiming  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) housing benefit and  (c) other benefits in the UK.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 8 March 2006,  Official Report,column 1548W.

Benefits (Lewisham, Deptford)

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents in  (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and  (b) Lewisham borough receive jobseeker's allowance.

James Plaskitt: As at May 2006, there were 3,003 jobseeker's allowance claimants in the Lewisham Deptford parliamentary constituency and 7,689 jobseeker's allowance claimants in the London borough of Lewisham.

Child Support Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-compliant absent parents for child support purposes are  (a) employed,  (b) self-employed and  (c) work abroad; and what percentage those employed are of the total number of non-compliant absent parents.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-compliant absent parents for child support purposes are (a) employed (b) self-employed and (c) work abroad; and what percentage those employed are of the total number of non-compliant absent parents.
	The Agency records information in terms of cases rather parents. My answer is therefore provided on this basis.
	At the end of March 2006, there were 127,000 cases involving non-resident parents who were non-compliant. Of these:
	77,000 cases involved non-resident parents who were employed. This represents 61 per cent. of all non-compliant cases.
	13,000 cases involved non-resident parents who were self-employed. This represents around 10 per cent. of all non-compliant cases.
	This information reflects the status of the non-resident parent currently held on the system as at the last intervention by the Agency and will not reflect changes in circumstances that the Agency has not yet been informed of, or are currently being processed.
	Non resident parents who live abroad generally do not have any ongoing liability for child maintenance. However, the 127,000 cases which involve non-compliant non-resident parents do include:
	Cases where non-resident parents accrued arrears for a maintenance liability, before permanently moving out of the UK.
	Cases where non-resident parents live abroad but work for a UK based employer, e.g. a member of HM Diplomatic Service or HM Armed Forces, although whether or not a non-resident parent in this situation will have an ongoing liability is dependant on their particular circumstances.
	However, we are unable to specify the volumes of non-compliant cases in either of these circumstances.
	I hope you find this helpful.

Child Support Agency

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many single parents receive the £5 deduction which claimants on benefit have to make towards Child Support Agency maintenance payments;
	(2)  how many people on benefit are liable for Child Support Agency maintenance payments; and how many have automatic deductions made against them.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Hilary Reynolds:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently out of the country, I am responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many single parents receive the £5 deduction which claimants on benefit have to make towards Child Support Agency maintenance payments.
	You also asked how many people on benefit are liable for Child Support Agency maintenance payments; and how many of this number have automatic deductions made against them.
	The Agency records information in terms of cases rather parents. Additionally the £5 deduction from benefit only applies to the new scheme. My answer is therefore provided on this basis.
	In order to obtain the benefit status of non-resident parents associated with new scheme cases, it has been necessary to match data from the Agency's administrative systems with data from the benefits system administered by Jobcentre Plus. The latter set of administrative data is published quarterly, and the latest information available is for November 2005.
	At the end of November 2005, there were 70,000 new scheme cases involving a non-resident parent (NRP) in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance or Incapacity Benefit with a positive maintenance liability. Of these, 54,000 had a deduction for benefit as the specified method of collection.
	The number of new scheme cases with a deduction from benefit that at the Agency was collecting maintenance from was 26,000,
	It should be noted that although a case can have a liability to pay the £5 deduction from benefit, the full amount may be owed to more than one parent with care. In this case the liable amount will be divided between the cases for which the non-resident parent has a liability.
	It should also be noted that there are also a small number of Non Resident Parents (the number of which cannot be quantified) who receive other benefits against which the Agency has a claim; namely—Retirement Pension, Pension Credit, Bereavement Allowance, Widowed Parents Allowance/Pension, Incapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Maternity Allowance, War Disablement or War Widows Pension, also certain training allowances. However, it is not possible to provide information on these cases.
	I hope you find this helpful.

Children's Services

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many nursery and crèche places are provided for people working in his Department; what charges are made for the provision of such services; and what other facilities are provided for the children of employees of his Department.

Anne McGuire: Staff in the Department for Work and Pensions have access to 32 holiday playschemes, five supported nurseries/crèches and six on site nurseries. The Department also supports some employees with children through the supply of cash subsidies. Current numbers are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Employees supported by holiday playschemes 369 
			 Employees supported through nursery/crèche places/subsidies 770 
		
	
	The Department spends approximately £1,200,000 on child care provision per year.
	Existing child care provision available across the Department has been developed according to local business need and is managed and funded from local budgets. As a result the Department has a varying range of subsidies and charges in place. Examples of subsidies and charges include £6 per day per child for nurseries, £4 per day per child for Holiday Playshemes, 35 per cent. of the cost of a holiday play scheme place. Pro rata subsidies are in place in a number of local areas for siblings.
	The Department will also shortly be implementing a Childcare Voucher (Salary Sacrifice) Scheme. This will be rolled out with the new payroll system provided by the Resource Management System (RMS) which is scheduled for release in August 2006. This scheme will offer the advantage of supporting parents to make their own choices about where and what type of childcare they want for their child.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Clause 1 of the Compensation Bill [Lords] on duties under health and safety at work legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Clause 1 of the Compensation Bill, which relates to civil law, will not have an effect on the enforcement in criminal law of the duties set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and its relevant statutory provisions.

Compulsory Work-focused Interviews

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of those who fail to attend compulsory work focused interviews have been subject to sanctions;
	(2)  how many incapacity benefit claimants have failed to attend compulsory work focused interviews; and what proportion this represented of the total number required to attend such interviews.

Jim Murphy: Incapacity customers, lone parents, and partners of benefit recipients are the customer groups subject to compulsory work focused interviews (WFI) at various times and intervals throughout their claim to benefit.
	The information requested on incapacity benefit claimants is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	104,545 WFIs have been booked for partners of benefit recipients between April 2004 and February 2006. As at February 2006, 14,621, or 14 per cent. of booked WFIs have been marked as "failed to attend"; of those approximately 4 per cent. have had a sanction applied and 13 per cent. have got a sanction outstanding.
	For information on lone parents I refer my right hon. Friend to the written answer my predecessor gave the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) on 28 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 943W.

Contracted-out Rebates

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of Government liabilities in respect of the deemed buy-back of contracted out rebates.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not available. Where individuals opt for deemed buy-back any entitlement to state second pension (S2P) will be paid from the National Insurance Fund when they reach state pension age. Separate estimates for S2P paid under this arrangement cannot be made.

Council Tax Benefit

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate of council tax benefit was in  (a) Peterborough constituency and  (b) Peterborough city council area in each year since 1996-97; and how many pensioners (i) were entitled to and (ii) received council tax benefit in each year.

James Plaskitt: Estimates of take-up and entitlement for council tax benefit are not available below national level; the latest available information is in "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take Up in 2003/2004", a copy of which is in the Library.
	Figures for the number of council tax benefit claimants are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency. Figures for pensioners in receipt of council tax benefit are not available prior to 2004. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over: Peterborough city council 
			  November  Number of recipients 
			 2004 2,180 
			 2005 2,060 
			  Notes:1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.2. Caseloads have been rounded to the nearest 10.3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.4. 'Aged 60 and over' is defined as benefit units where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and over. Therefore figures will contain some claimants aged under 60 where there is a partner aged over 60 years. Source:Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in November 2004 and November 2005.

Employment (Over-50s)

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of people in work aged 50 years and over in the Kingston and Surbiton constituency.

Jim Murphy: Like all other customers, people aged 50 and over can benefit from the range of services provided by Jobcentre Plus, including access to jobs and help and support to find work.
	Additional help is provided to older people who do not find work quickly. New Deal 50 plus is a voluntary programme that provides people with advice and guidance from personal advisers, and access to in-work financial help through the 50 plus element of the working tax credit. Since April 2000, the programme has been successful in helping more than 150,000 older workers into employment, including 150 people in Kingston and Surbiton. Once in work, new deal 50 plus customers can claim a training grant of up to £1,500 for training of which up to £300 can be used for life-long learning.
	People aged 50 and over, including those in Kingston and Surbiton, are also eligible for help from new deal 25 plus. People who have been claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for 18 months and who have not previously participated on new deal 25 plus, are already required to attend the gateway stage of the new deal25 plus programme. This is a period of up to four months of intensive job search and specialist help and support to improve job prospects. This is followed by the intensive activity period (IAP) which is currently voluntary for people aged 50 and over. The IAP provides further support and pre-work training to help people return to work.
	Since April 2004, we have been piloting mandatory participation in the new deal 25 plus IAP for people aged 50 to 59 who have been claiming JSA for18 months. The pilot has offered people in this age group more extensive help back to work. Kingston and Surbiton was not part of the pilot, however, interim pilot data have yielded positive results and, as announced in our Welfare Reform Green Paper, we will be commencing a phased national rollout.
	Between 1979 and the mid 1990s, the number of people on incapacity benefits trebled. Growth in the caseload has since slowed significantly, and in November 2005, there were 2.71 million people claiming incapacity benefits, a fall of 61,000 over the year. Although 46 per cent. of those claiming incapacity benefits are aged between 50 and state pension age, between 2000 and 2005 the number of people in the 50 plus age group fell by 52,000. This has contributed to the overall reduction in the incapacity benefits caseload.
	Like other age groups, people aged 50 or over who are on IB will be able to benefit from the rollout of the successful Pathways to Work service across the whole country which will be completed by 2008, including Kingston and Surbiton. Pathways offers new IB customers early support from skilled personal advisers and direct access to a 'Choices Package' of employment programmes and clear financial incentives to make work pay. Any IB customer will be able to access the support and help available on a voluntary basis.
	Our Age Positive Campaign works with employers and others to promote the business benefits of an age diverse work force and best practice in recruitment, training and promotion. In May 2005 we launched the 'Be Ready' national information campaign to raise employer awareness of, and ability to adopt, flexible employment and retirement opportunities to support the recruitment and retention of older workers in advance of age legislation due in October 2006.

Employment Rates

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the role of area-based activities by his Department in increasing local employment rates.

Jim Murphy: Area-based employment initiatives continue to be important, particularly in our most deprived communities. The Department's priority is to ensure that all initiatives are more effectively targeted at those with the greatest degree of labour market disadvantage. This means that we constantly have to review our programmes and services to ensure that they provide good value for money and continue to meet the needs of our customers. Area-based initiatives such as Action Teams and the Working Neighbourhoods Pilot have, to date, helped over 170,000 people in some of our most deprived communities move into work.
	Many of the practices and ideas developed by Action Teams have been integrated into Jobcentre Plus mainstream programmes and services. Examples include outreach work in local communities and the greater discretionary funding that is available to advisers. We also aim to build on lessons learnt from the recent Working Neighbourhoods Pilot.
	Our successful Pathways to Work pilots have been acknowledged internationally as the best way of helping people on incapacity benefits back into work quickly and many of the pilots are located in areas with high levels of incapacity benefit claims. Much of the success of Pathways is directly attributable to the partnership approach at the local level with strong advocacy from local partners, access to a wide range of specialist expertise, and a unified complementary approach. It is this partnership approach that we are extending further with our Cities Strategy. Private and voluntary sector providers currently deliver and support a number of different programmes within our Pathways to Work pilots. We will shortly be announcing the future roll-out of Pathways.
	Our future strategy will build on the success of Action Teams, and other community-based initiatives; including the introduction of a Deprived Areas Fund (DAF) from October 2006, which will provide Jobcentre Plus with the flexibility to decide how funding could add value locally against a continued central objective of increasing the employment rate in the local areas. This fund will enable districts to target resources where they are most needed. Funding will be allocated at a district level, to enable Jobcentre Plus District Managers to exercise greater discretion over how the funding should be utilised in their area. DMs will use their knowledge of the local labour market, coupled with evidence of 'what works' to support the needs of local residents.
	Partnership working with local government is especially important to DWP in promoting the economic vitality of localities. Local area agreements (LAAs) have been devised to provide a common and simple framework that leads to central Government, local authorities and partners agreeing local outcomes.
	On 16 March 2005 the Chancellor announced the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI). Its purpose is to release the economic and productivity potential of the most deprived local areas through enterprise and investment—thereby boosting local incomes and employment opportunities and building sustainable communities. The proposed fund will distribute up to £50 million per year for 2006-07 rising to £150 million by 2008-09, and will be distributed through local area agreements (LAA).
	As proposed in the Green Paper, the creation of 'Cities' pathfinders from 2007, will be charged with increasing employment and reducing social exclusion in our most deprived communities. In these areas, a consortium of local partners will be invited to join up and plan the delivery of their individual efforts and resources, with a strong focus on outcomes combined with greater opportunity for local flexibility and innovation. This approach will provide a real focus for local efforts to help people move back into work, so that the current patchwork of programmes and support, provided by a number of organisations can be delivered in a more integrated, individually-focused and locally responsive way.
	The Deprived Areas Fund, along with our strategy for 'Cities' and local area agreements will play a significant role in increasing local employment rates; ensuring those most disadvantaged in the labour market can receive the help and guidance they deserve.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures the Department is putting in place to speed up payments to those eligible under the Financial Assistance Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: In response to discussions with the pension scheme trustees responsible for applying tothe Financial Assistance Scheme, we have simplified the information we need from schemes and clarified our guidance on the member data we require. We have also held meetings with over 75 per cent. of schemes with members potentially eligible for initial payments to ensure they understand what information is required and when.
	Following these improvements to communications with trustees, over the last month the number of schemes applying for initial payments has increased to 146 and the number of members being paid initial payments has increased to 95, with an additional four members being paid annual payments.
	On 6 June we announced a review of the administration of the Financial Assistance Scheme, which will look at what we need to do to provide the best administration and management support to ensure all eligible people receive payments as quickly as possible.

Housing Benefit

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider Hartlepool borough council as one of the planned pilots for the housing benefit sanction proposals announced on 5 June.

James Plaskitt: We are currently consulting stakeholders on the detail of the proposal, and will be investigating pilots sites later this year. Hartlepool will be considered as a possible pilot site as part of this process.

Incapacity Benefit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the change in the number of incapacity benefit customers moving into work in the pathways to work pilot areas.

Anne McGuire: Our successful Pathways to Work pilots have been acknowledged internationally as the best way of helping people on incapacity benefits back into work quickly. There have been 21,400 job entries in Pathways to Work areas, including over 3,360 from voluntary customers. The number of recorded job entries for people with a health condition or disability has almost doubled since before Pathways started.
	The specific information requested is not available.
	Information on Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target (JET) job entries is in the table.
	
		
			  Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target (JET) job entries in the 12 months prior to, and in the 12 months after, the roll-out of Pathways 
			   12 months prior to Pathways roll-out  12 months after Pathways rollout  Percentage change 
			 Pathways Phase 1 areas(1) 2,950 5,460 85 
			 Pathways Phase 2 areas(2) 3,680 5,290 44 
			 (1) The first phase of the Pathways to Work Pilots commenced on 27 October 2003 in Bridgend Rhondda Cynon and Taf, Derbyshire and Renfrewshire Inverclyde Argyll and Bute.(2 )The second phase of the Pathways to Work Pilots commenced on 5 April 2004 in Essex, Gateshead and South Tyneside, Lancashire East and Somerset. Notes1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.2. Jobcentre Plus' JET data does not account for all job entries that occur when somebody leaves Incapacity Benefit, the JET jobs are only jobs that occur following a significant intervention from JCP (such as a job submission or the award of a financial incentive).

Incapacity Benefit

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals are claiming  (a) short-term and  (b) long-term incapacity benefit in (i) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and (ii) Lewisham borough.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants in London borough of Lewisham and Lewisham Deptford parliamentary constituency, November 2005 
			   London borough of Lewisham  Lewisham Deptford constituency 
			 All IB/SDA 12,130 4,330 
			 IB short-term (lower) 300 90 
			 IB short- term (higher) 310 90 
			 IB long-term 4,080 1,380 
			 IB credits 6,360 2,390 
			 SDA 1,080 380 
			  Notes:1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.3. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, including incapacity benefit credits only cases. Source:DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Industrial Relations

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the state of industrial relations with staff of his Department and its agencies.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) seeks an effective and constructive engagement with its three recognised trade unions. We provide allowances of 0.2 per cent. over staffing costs (equating to around £5.5 million of public money) to fund the cost of employee trade union representatives, in order to ensure proper engagement. Recent evidence of constructive consultative relationships include: a three-year pay deal negotiated and agreed with the unions; a "seeking to avoid compulsory redundancies" agreement signed in November 2004 which has the confidence of all parties and has enabled us to make significant staffing reductions without dispute; and a re-launch of our attendance management policy inJuly 2005 with a joint statement with the unions.
	The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is currently in dispute with DWP over our efficiency programme. This is a matter of regret to the Department but talks are currently in progress to seek to resolve this dispute.

Jobcentre Plus

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what total headcount reductions in Jobcentre Plus staff are expected as a result of the Efficiencies Savings Programme, broken down by job title; how many personal advisers there are; and how many personal advisers there were when the agency was established.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 13 June 2006
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what total headcount reductions in Jobcentre Plus staff are expected as a result of the Efficiencies Savings Programme, broken down by Job Title; how many personal advisers there are; and how many personal advisers there were when the agency was established. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The efficiency challenge is measured against the baseline position at 1 March 2004. The table below shows the position at 1 March 2004 and the planned position at 31 March 2008. Figures are Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and comply with the Office of National Statistics definitions.
	
		
			   Total (FTE) 
			 31 March 2008 (Headcount) 65,637 
			 31 March 2008 (Reductions) 16,430 
			 1 March 2004 (Headcount) 82,067 
		
	
	Information on reductions broken down by job title is not available.
	The earliest data we hold on the number of Personal Advisors working in Jobcentre Plus is for April 2003. The table below shows the number of Personal Advisers at April 2003, and at March 2006. This is the latest information available.
	
		
			   Total personal advisers (FTE) 
			 April 2003 9,842 
			 As a percentage of all staff in April 2003 11.9 
			   
			 March 2006 10,423 
			 As a percentage of all staff in March 2006 14.6 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Liability Orders

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many liability orders under Section 33 of the Child Support Act 1991 and Child Support Regulations 1992 have been sought  (a) in the UK,  (b) within Hertfordshire and  (c) within St. Albans in each year since 1995; and how many of these were successful.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Hilary Reynolds, dated 26 June 2006:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently out of the country, I am responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders under Section 33 of the Child SupportAct 1991 and Child Support Regulations 1992 have been sought (a) in the UK (b) within Hertfordshire and (c) within St. Albans in each year since 1995; and how many of these were successful.
	Information about the total number of liability order applications and those successfully granted is only available from the period since March 1998. Due to the format in which this information is gathered it is not possible to provide details at the requested county or town level. Therefore information has only been provided at UK level.
	
		
			   Liability orders applied for  Liability orders granted 
			 1998-99 3968 2033 
			 1999-2000 4207 2532 
			 2000-01 3584 1755 
			 2001-02 3166 1427 
			 2002-03 5540 2383 
			 2003-04 6719 3885 
			 2004-05 7773 7247 
			 2005-06 11926 10273 
		
	
	During 2003 a full review of enforcement activity within the Child Support Agency was undertaken. The recommendations which were implemented started to show a marked improvement in performance during 2004-05 and particularly last year 2005-06.
	I hope you find this response helpful.

Newcastle Jobcentre Plus Action Team

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget for the Newcastle Jobcentre Plus Action Team is for 2006-07; what the budget was in each of the last two years; which programmes the team supported in 2005-06 and 2006-07; and what geographical areas each programme covered.

Jim Murphy: Action Teams aim to engage communities, mainly through outreach and find individual solutions for both employers and clients.
	The Newcastle Action Team covers the Newcastle city area and has supported a number of local programmes. Some examples of these programmes are: Sure Start; Newcastle City Council Work Finders; Job Educational Training and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL); Mental Health Matters; the Prison Service; Disability North; and Connexions.
	Details of the allocated budget for the Newcastle Action Team are in the table.
	
		
			   Allocated budget (£) 
			 2006-07 (April to 30 September 2006) 697,000 
			 2005-06 1,044,000 
			 2004-05 1,044,000 
		
	
	The funding for 2006-07 is less than for previous years as the Action Team programme is due to finish at the end of September 2006. Many of the practices and ideas developed by Action Teams have been integrated into Jobcentre Plus mainstream programmes and services. Examples include outreach work in local communities and the greater discretionary funding that is available to advisers.

Parliamentary Questions

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to Question  (a) (i) 64505, (ii) 64521, (iii) 64507, (iv) 64504, (v) 64520, (vi) 64519 and (vii) 64508 on pension credit,  (b) (i) 64500 and (ii) 64495 on sickness absence,  (c) (i) 64498 and (ii) 64499 on rehabilitation services and  (d) 64501 on benefit helplines tabled by the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds on 12 January.

Anne McGuire: Replies have been given to the hon. Member for all of the questions as follows:
	64495 on 11 May 2006,  Official Report, column 497W
	64504 on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1003W
	64505 on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1003W
	64507 on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1004W
	64508 on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1003W
	64520 on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1004-05W
	64521 on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1003-04W
	64498 on 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1803W
	64499 on 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1803W
	64519 on 7 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1488W
	64501 on 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 914W
	64500 on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column1476W

Pension Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioner households are receiving pension credit in each ward in  (a) Westminster and  (b) Kensington and Chelsea; and what the average payment is in each ward.

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Pension credit household recipients and average weekly amount of benefit for wards in Westminster, November 2005 
			  Ward name  Household recipients  Average weekly benefit (£) 
			 Aldersgate — — 
			 Bishopsgate — — 
			 Cripplegate 80 63.95 
			 Farringdon Within — — 
			 Farringdon Without — — 
			 Portsoken 70 70.50 
			 Queenhithe — — 
			 Tower — — 
			 Walbrook — — 
			 Bayswater 310 76.94 
			 Bryanston and Dorset Square 240 74.98 
			 Churchill 430 60.9 
			 Hyde Park 325 85.33 
			 Knightsbridge and Belgravia 50 70.38 
			 Lancaster Gate 365 75.93 
			 Marylebone High Street 240 61.14 
			 St. James's 350 58.33 
			 Tachbrook 410 55.43 
			 Vincent Square 375 63.64 
			 Warwick 300 67.59 
			 West End 280 70.73 
			 Cities of London and Westminster Constituency Total 3,710 68.07 
		
	
	
		
			  Pension credit household recipients and average weekly amount of benefit for wards in Kensington and Chelsea, November 2005 
			  Ward name  Household recipients  Average weekly benefit (£) 
			 Abingdon 220 74.70 
			 Brompton 165 66.34 
			 Campden 140 71.92 
			 Courtfield 165 66.02 
			 Cremorne 505 66.42 
			 Earl's Court 375 73.05 
			 Hans Town 235 61.82 
			 Holland(1) 175 84.40 
			 Pembridge 215 67.51 
			 Queen's Gate 120 84.75 
			 Redcliffe 245 66.25 
			 Royal Hospital 280 49.67 
			 Stanley 220 59.71 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Constituency Total 3,150 67.77 
			 (1) Only part of Holland ward falls within Kensington and Chelsea parliamentary constituency. Notes:1. The number of claimants are rounded to a multiple of five and average amounts to the nearest penny therefore ward totals do not always sum to area totals.2. Some figures in Westminster Constituency have been suppressed due to there being less than 10 claimants within those wards. Suppressed figures are marked as "—".3. Wards are based on 2003 ward boundaries.4. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either on behalf of themselves only or on behalf of a household. This number is equal to the number of households in receipt of pension credit. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances a credit will be awarded towards a qualifying year for  (a) the basic state pension and state second pension,  (b) the basic state pension only and  (c) the state second pension only, if the proposals in the May 2006 White Paper 'Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system' are implemented in full; and which credits will apply on a weekly basis.

James Purnell: The White Paper 'Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system' (Cm 6841) sets out a package of proposed reforms. It includes a number of measures which would help to make the system more flexible, and make national insurance credits more valuable, and more generous.
	The proposed reduction of the number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension to 30 is a very significant change that makes the system more flexible; it allows people to undertake a variety of activities during their working lives, and still be able to build a full basic state pension. This would be particularly beneficial to women.
	Credits would be made more valuable by removing the first contribution condition, so that credits count towards pension entitlements in exactly the same way as paid contributions for the first time. This clearly signals that social contributions are rewarded and recognised by society in the same way as paid work. The credits would be awarded on a weekly basis only to the extent needed for the year to become a qualifying year.
	In addition to making credits more valuable, the credits system would be made more comprehensive and generous, by reforming home responsibilities protection into a weekly credit and introducing new weekly credits for parents and carers—aligned in BSP and S2P and these would count towards satisfying the qualifying years in the same way as paid contributions.
	Assuming the White Paper proposals are implemented in full, the new credits to be introduced are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   BSP  S2P 
			 Carer's credit (20 hours' caring) Yes Yes 
			 Parent's credit Yes Yes 
			 Foster carer's credit Yes Yes 
		
	
	All the credits will be awarded on a weekly basis.
	There will be no specific circumstances in which state second pension will accrue without there being entitlement to basic state pension.
	Circumstances in which credits are currently awarded towards basic state pension are listed in the following table. Whether there is also eligibility for state second pension, if credits are awarded throughout the tax year is also noted.
	
		
			   BSP  S2P 
			 Starting credits (aged 16 to 18) Yes No 
			 Approved training courses Yes No 
			 Jury Service Yes No 
			 Former prisoners with quashed convictions Yes No 
			 Men aged 60 to 64(1) Yes No 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance Yes No 
			 Incapacity Benefit (short-term) Yes No 
			 Incapacity Benefit (long-term) Yes (2)Yes 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance Yes Yes 
			 Carer's Allowance Yes Yes 
			 Statutory Sick Pay Yes No 
			 Statutory Adoption Pay Yes No 
			 Working Tax Credit Yes No 
			 Maternity Allowance Yes No 
			 Unemployability supplement Yes No 
			 Unemployed, actively seeking work (no JSA) Yes No 
			 Incapable of work through illness (no IB) Yes (2)Yes 
			 (1) lf the White Paper proposals are implemented in full, these will be phased out in line with the increase in women's state pension age.(2) This is currently subject to satisfying the labour market test.

Remploy Review

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether hon. Members are able to make submissions to the review of Remploy being undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The purpose of the independent strategic review is to explore future business options for Remploy that are consistent with the Government's strategy for supporting the employment of greater numbers of disabled people.
	In delivering the review the PricewaterhouseCoopers team have met with a range of stakeholders including: the management and staff of Remploy, at a variety of sites; trade unions; disabled people and employers using Remploy's Interwork services; other providers of services supporting disabled people into and in work; and, a number of disability organisations.
	PricewaterhouseCoopers has reviewed carefully all the information it has gathered and is considering all the options to determine the advice it will put forward in the written report. Since the team has now reached the stage where it is writing the report it will not be possible for them to consider further submissions.
	As indicated in my written statement of 6 June 2006,  Official Report, column 26WS, we will make a further statement before the summer recess.

Staff Reductions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reductions in staff numbers have been made in his Department and in each agency and non-departmental public body for which he is responsible since  (a) 2003 and  (b) 2004; what staff reductions are planned over the next 12 months in each business area; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 12 December 2006
	Information on the reductions in staff numbers in each business area in the Department for Work and Pensions from the date specified to 31 March 2006 is in the following table.
	
		
			   Actual staffing at 31 March 2006  Reduction from 31 March 2003  Reduction from 1 March 2004( 1)  Reduction from 31 March 2005  Further planned reduction to 31 March 2007 Plans 
			  Department for Work and Pensions  
			 Jobcentre Plus 71,222 8,084 10,845 3,253 2,672 
			 The Pension Service 13,846 4,336 6,045 2,573 46 
			 Child Support Agency 11,034 347 +106 +1,049 384 
			 Disability and Carers Service 6,398 895 864 216 348 
			 Appeals Service 759 134 91 5 n/a 
			 The Rent Service 674 n/a (2)— 52 24 
			 Other Departmental Units (includes non-departmental public bodies) 10,834 2,118 704 1,202 584 
			 Departmental Total 114,767 15,240 18,443 6,252 4,817 
			   
			  Health and Safety Executive  
			 Health and Safety Executive 3,943 219 +66 +40 259 
			 (1) Baseline date for efficiency challenge(2) The baseline position as at 1 March 2004 is adjusted to reflect the move of The Rent Service from 1 April 2004 from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Notes:1. Figures are consistent with ONS definitions, are civil service full time equivalent posts (rounded) and are point in time as at the dates specified.2. The Appeals Service moved to the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 1 April 2006 3. Disability and Carers Service was granted Agency status from 1 November 2004.4. CSA staffing levels have increased to support the Operational Improvement Plan announced on 9 February 2006

Winter Fuel Payment

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many individuals aged 60 to 79 years received the winter fuel payment of  (a) £100 and  (b) £200 for winter 2005-06 in (i) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and (ii) Lewisham borough;
	(2)  how many individuals aged 80 years and over received the winter fuel payment for winter 2005-06 in  (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and  (b) Lewisham borough; and how many out of those received an additional (i) £50 and (ii) £100.

James Purnell: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			   Lewisham Deptford constituency  Lewisham borough 
			 £100 payments made 2,270 9,260 
			 £200 payments made 5,200 16,660 
			 Total winter fuel payments made to those aged 60-79 7,480 25,920 
			
			 Additional £50 payments made 190 1,010 
			 Additional £100 payments made 1,300 5,650 
			 Total winter fuel payments made to those aged 80 or over 1,490 6,670 
			  Notes:1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.3. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory.4. Figures for 2005-06 refer only to the main payment run so they do not include the late payment run figures. We estimate that there are approximately 100,000 people in Great Britain paid in late payment runs (0.8 per cent. of all payments). Since most of the payments made in late payment runs are to people who are not receiving another benefit from DWP and whose claims had not been received by the qualifying week, most are men aged 60 to 64. Source:Information Directorate 100 per cent. sample.

Departmental Bills

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  if he will list those Government Bills sponsored by his Department that are still to be introduced during the 2005-06 session;
	(2)  if he will list the Government Bills sponsored by his Department that he has bid for in the next session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1431W, by the Leader of the House, my right hon. Friend Jack Straw.

Regional Funding

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much  (a) Objective 1 and  (b) Convergence Funds funding was included in each of the annual block grant totals set out in Annex 1 of the Wales Office Annual Report 2005.

Peter Hain: Annex 1 of the Wales Office Annual Report 2005 provides information on the Wales departmental expenditure limit, and therefore takes account of the European Union receipts for structural funds, but these are not disaggregated.
	Annex 4 shows the reconciliation of grant payable to the National Assembly for Wales with Total Managed Expenditure in Wales 2005-06 included £234 million for EU receipts. The equivalent figures in earlier reports are:
	2004 Annex 5 2004-05: £235 million
	2003 Annex 5 2003-04: £186 million
	2002 Annex 5 2002-03: £170 million.

Electoral Registration/Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many Electoral Commission reports on  (a) postal ballot fraud and  (b) electoral registration have been produced in each of the last five years; and how many words there were in each.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission has informed me that, in the last five years, it has produced four reports dealing in part with postal ballot fraud, four reports dealing wholly, or in part, with electoral registration and two that deal with both issues.
	Of the reports dealing with postal ballot fraud, one was produced in 2002 (33,578 words); two in 2003 (17,826 words and 54,351 words respectively); and one in 2004 (33,592 words). Of the reports dealing with electoral registration, two were produced in 2003 (17,809 words and 30,633 words respectively); one in 2004 (38,438 words); and one in 2005 (19,451 words). The two reports dealing with both these issues were published in 2003 and 2005, and contained 17,785 words and 23,081 words respectively.

Business Closures (Suffolk)

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms have ceased trading in  (a) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and  (b) the Suffolk county council area in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Value added tax (VAT) de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business closures. DTI data on the number of VAT de-registrations in  (a) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and  (b) Suffolk county council area from 1997 to 2004 are shown in the following table. For comparison, the number of new VAT registrations and the ratio of de-registrations to registrations in each year are also shown.
	
		
			  VAT de-registrations and registrations 1997-2004 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Bury St. Edmunds constituency   
			 De-registrations 225 200 235 250 240 220 275 280 
			 New registrations 295 280 275 325 260 315 305 345 
			 Ratio 0.76 0.71 0.85 0.77 0.92 0.70 0.90 0.81 
			  
			  Suffolk county council   
			 De-registrations 1,595 1,615 1,600 1,665 1,700 1,715 1,865 1,970 
			 New registrations 2,055 1,915 1,855 2,040 1,860 2,075 2,130 2,050 
			 ratio 0.78 0.84 0.86 0.82 0.91 0.83 0.88 0.96 
			  Source:  Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2004, Small Business Service, available at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats. 
		
	
	In both Bury St. Edmunds constituency and Suffolk county council area the stock of VAT registered businesses has increased each year since 1997, as registrations have exceeded de-registrations throughout this period.
	VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only1.8 million out of 4.3 million businesses (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.

Company Law Reform Bill

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the likely changes in costs to business arising out of implementation of the provisions of the Company Law Reform Bill as amended by the House of Lords.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 20 June 2006
	Against direct benefits of between £160 million and £340 million per annum there are a small number of provisions in the Bill that might in principle increase compliance costs. The direct costs associated with the Bill are expected to be in the range £8 million to£47 million. This is an increase of £6 million to £36 million on the estimated direct costs associated with the Company Law Reform Bill on introduction in the Lords (£2 million to £11 million).
	The additional costs of £6 million to £36 million are associated with the amendments to the "Exercise of Members' Rights" provisions made in the House of Lords. The direct cost estimates have been provided by stakeholders and are sensitive to assumptions such as the percentage of indirect investors opting to exercise rights. We will seek to revise those amendments during consideration of the Bill in the House of Commons.

Flag Flying

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  on how many days since May 1997 the St. George's flag has been flown from his Department's buildings;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on flying the  (a) St. George's flag and  (b) EU flag from departmental buildings.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issue the guidance for flying flags on Government buildings. This includes flying the St. George's flag or Union flag on St. George's day 23 April and the European flag on Europe day 9 May on buildings with two or more flag poles provided they are flown alongside the Union flag with the Union flag in the superior position.
	The Department for Trade and Industry flies the Union flag and European flag on the specified days and shall fly the national flag on St. George's day in 2007.

Green Energy Sources

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives are in place to encourage private homeowners to use green energy sources to power and heat their homes.

Malcolm Wicks: Grants for the installation of a number of microgeneration technologies producing heat and electricity are available to householders under the new Low Carbon Buildings programme (LCBP). This programme supersedes the previous Clear Skies and Major Photovoltaics Demonstration programmes. Stream one of the LCBP provides grant support for householders and applications are now being taken. The scheme is managed on behalf of the Department by the Energy Savings Trust.
	Full details are available on the LCBP website at www.lowcarbonbuiIdings.org.uk.
	Microgenerators producing electricity can also benefit from the Renewables Obligation (RO) where they will receive one Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for every 1MWh of eligible renewable electricity generated. We will also be consulting later this year on changes to the RO, which will allow microgenerators to gain further benefits. This includes allowing agentsto act on behalf of microgenerators; amalgamating generation from several microgenerators; and removing the need for a sale and buy-back agreement.

Green Tariffs

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria must be met before an electricity company may market an electricity tariff as a green tariff.

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem publish guidelines for the use of green tariffs and issued a consultation on the revision of these guidelines last year. They advise they will publish their response shortly.

Industrial Strategy (West Midlands)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans his Department has to review the effect of the Government's industrial strategy on the west Midlands.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 June 2006
	DTI published the Government's manufacturing strategy in 2002 and carried out a review of that strategy with key industry stakeholders across the regions in 2004.
	As an outcome of the review, we established the joint industry and Government-led manufacturing forum to drive forward the implementation of the strategy and monitor progress. Regional development agencies are represented on the forum, reflecting their strong involvement in delivering the strategy.
	I am meeting the hon. Member and other hon. Members in the near future and will discuss with him the effect of the Government's manufacturing strategy on the west Midlands.

Muslim Women (Employment)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent steps he has taken to increase the participation of Muslim women in the labour market; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Ethnic Minority Business Forum was established in 2000 by the DTI as an independent, strategic advisory body to represent the views of ethnic minority business communities. It advises Government on the right help and advice ethnic minority businesses need for growth and success.
	Additionally the DTI's Public Service Agreement 10, which is a joint target with DWP, is to promote ethnic diversity, co-operative employment relations and greater choice and commitment in the workplace while maintaining a flexible labour market.
	The DTI's sub-targets include raising self employment rate of ethnic minorities relative to other groups and reducing incidents of racial discrimination at work reported by ethnic minority employees.
	In addition, the Government's Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force brings together Government Departments and key stakeholders to work towards increasing the employment rate of ethnic minorities, including Muslim women.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Prime Minister's answer of 14 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 764-5, on nuclear power, what the source was for his statement  (a) that 50 to 60 nuclear power plants are under construction and  (b) that the new generation of nuclear power stations generate around one-tenth of the radioactive waste of the previous generation of reactors.

Malcolm Wicks: The source for the data regarding nuclear power plants under construction is the World Nuclear Association website at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/reactors.htm
	The website illustrates that there are 25 reactors under construction and 38 reactors planned, giving a total of 63 reactors. The definitions given on the website for "construction" and "planned" are:
	"Construction?first concrete for reactor poured, or major refurbishment under way"; "Planned?Approvals and funding in place, or construction well advanced but suspended indefinitely".
	On the matter of radioactive waste, details of the calculations and views of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) can be found at www.corwm.org.uk

Nuclear Power

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department takes to ensure that nuclear decommissioning costs are  (a) kept to budget and  (b) cost effective.

Malcolm Wicks: The policy intention behind the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which assumed responsibility for the decommissioning and clean up of the UK's civil nuclear legacy on 1 April 2005, is to provide national strategic control and direction for decommissioning of those sites previously operated by UKAEA and BNFL and to deliver accelerated clean-up safely, securely, cost effectively and in ways that safeguard the environment for this and future generations. The DTI has arrangements for the oversight of NDA so as to be sure that it is achieving this task, and like other areas of government activity the activities of NDA are also subject to review by the National Audit Office.

Nuclear Power

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any funds provisionally set aside for  (a) the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and  (b) the disposal of nuclear waste has been used for any other purposes since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: We are not aware of any funds set aside for the decommissioning of nuclear power plants or the disposal of nuclear waste that have been used for any other purposes.

Nuclear Power

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been set aside by  (a) the Government and  (b) the nuclear industry towards the cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are committed to funding the full costs of the decommissioning and clean up of the historic civil nuclear liabilities by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The Consolidated Fund is the mechanism for funding this. Under the 2004 Spending Review the NDA received a budget of £2.2 billion for 2005-06—about half of which was to be raised by the NDA's commercial activities. Following the successful conclusion of the EC State Aid Review on 4 April 2006, financial responsibility for decommissioning BNFL sites has passed to the NDA under the Energy Act 2004. Until this point BNFL held nuclear funding assets of some £17.3 billion on its balance sheet to fund future decommissioning costs. Following the transfer of the nuclear decommissioning liability to the NDA, these assets have been transferred back to the Government.
	There are separate arrangements for funding the decommissioning of British Energy nuclear sites. Since privatisation in 1996, British Energy has been making contributions into a segregated decommissioning fund. As a result of the restructuring, which completed in January 2005, British Energy will make enhanced contributions into the fund and Government will underwrite the fund to the extent that its liabilities outweigh its assets. On recent valuation, the assets of the segregated fund total some £8.1 billion the majority of which relates to the value attributed to the fund's 64.6 per cent. convertible stake in British Energy.

Oil Companies

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he plans to take to ensure that oil companies are required to offer supply contracts to independent petrol retailers; and what assessment he has made of the compliance of oil companies with Government fair trading and competition policies in respect of their dealings with independent petrol retailers.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government's policy is not to intervene in commercial transactions or price setting, as they believe the consumer is best served by open competition between companies.
	An assessment has not been made by the DTI on the compliance of oil companies with Government fair trading and competition policies in respect of their dealings with independent petrol retailers. However, the supply of fuel is subject to UK competition law under the Competition Act 1998. Under the Act, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has powers to investigate situations where there are reasonable grounds to suspect anti-competitive agreements or abuse of a dominant market position in the fuel market.

Renewable Energy

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the purchase price is of a kilowatt hour of electricity generated by  (a) wind power and  (b) incinerators accepting municipal waste; and how this purchase price is reduced by renewables obligations certificates in each case.

Malcolm Wicks: In the UK's competitive and liberalised energy market, the purchase price of a kilowatt hourof electricity generated, by  (a) wind power and  (b) incinerators accepting municipal waste, is a commercial matter between generators and suppliers.
	Renewable obligation certificates allow accredited renewable generators to receive a premium price for every one megawatt hour of eligible electricity generated. An incinerator accepting municipal mixed waste is not eligible for renewable obligation certificates.

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what penalties will be imposed on organisations selling goods which do not comply with the restriction of hazardous substances directive;
	(2)  what  (a) powers,  (b) funds and  (c) responsibilities have been given to the relevant agencies to ensure that all goods entering the UK after 1 July comply with the restriction of hazardous substances directive;
	(3)  what assessment his Department carried out prior to the implementation of the restrictions of hazardous substances directive of the impact of using non-lead solders on the reliability of electronic equipment manufactured;
	(4)  what steps are being taken to reduce environmental impact of the compulsory use of non-lead solders following the enactment of the restriction of hazardous substances directive;
	(5)  what testing procedures exist to measure whether metals used in electrical apparatus will comply with the restriction of hazardous substances directive;
	(6)  what steps have been taken to ensure that the materials being used to replace those banned by the restriction of hazardous substances directive are less damaging to the environment;
	(7)  what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to ensure that all goods entering the UK after 1 July are compliant with standards imposed by the restriction of hazardous substances directive.

Malcolm Wicks: The EC restriction of hazardous substances directive (2002/95/EC) has been transposed into UK legislation by the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 2006No. 1463), which come into force on 1 July this year. These regulations, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House, contain full details of the powers and responsibilities that the enforcement authority will hold and the details of the penalties that could be imposed on those that do not comply with the requirements. HM Revenue and Customs are not given specific additional powers by these regulations.
	Due to the broad scope of the regulations, there are no standard testing procedures but the DTI's non-statutory Government Guidance Notes does offer advice on the UK's overall compliance approach.
	Copies of a full regulatory impact assessment were placed in the Libraries of the House at the same time as copies of the regulations.

Small Businesses

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small businesses that began trading since 1997 have subsequently ceased trading in  (a) Bury St. Edmunds constituency,  (b) Suffolk,  (c) the east of England and  (d) England.

Margaret Hodge: Value added tax (VAT) registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business starts and closures. Latest VAT data on the total number of registrations since 1997 and the number of these registrations that subsequently de-registered, covering up to 2004, are shown in the following table for  (a) Bury St. Edmunds constituency,  (b) Suffolk,  (c) the East of England and  (d) England.
	
		
			  VAT registrations and subsequent de-registrations, 1997 to 2004( 1) 
			   Number of registrations and de-registrations 
			  Bury St Edmunds constituency  
			 New registrations 1997 to 2004 2,395 
			 Number de-registering by end of 2004 650 
			 Percentage still registered, end of 2004 73 
			   
			  Suffolk county  
			 New registrations 1997 to 2004 15,940 
			 Number de-registering by end of 2004 4,860 
			 Percentage still registered, end of 2004 70 
			   
			  East of England GOR  
			 New registrations 1997 to 2004 140,400 
			 Number de-registering by end of 2004 44,925 
			 Percentage still registered, end of 2004 68 
			   
			  England  
			 New registrations 1997 to 2004 1,261,665 
			 Number de-registering by end of 2004 429,510 
			 Percentage still registered, end of 2004 66 
			 (1) VAT registration and de-registration data are not available by size of business. However, 98 per cent. of the total stock of VAT registered businesses are small (0-49 employees). Source: Office for National Statistics, UK Business: Activity, Size and Location—2005, available from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product..asp? .vlnk=933.   Source:  New analysis of VAT Survival Rates data 1994-2003, Small Business Service, available at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/survival; SBS analysis of ONS Inter Departmental Business Register data. 
		
	
	VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register may not have closed. Only 1.8 million out of the4.3 million businesses in the UK (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.

Supermarkets

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Competition Commission inquiry into supermarkets will include the implications of the international business practices of the largest chains.

Ian McCartney: Although the OFT have been specific in the issues they feel could be a problem within the market, the Competition Commission (CC) investigation is not limited to considering only those issues identified in the reference document. It is for the CC to make that decision.
	In its statement of issues published on 15 June, the CC has indicated that it has received evidence on a range of issues of public concern associated with grocery retailing which they have no power to investigate or resolve. These issues, and public concern about them, may interact with competition issues and provide background and context for the investigation but the CC has stated that its focus must be on the competition issues. The full statement of issues can be found at:
	http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/ref2006/grocery/pdf/issues_statement.pdf.

Trade Control Licences

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) standard individual trade control licences and  (b) open individual trade control licences have been issued to UK-based companies for the transfer of small arms from Bosnia to (i) Iraq and (ii) other destination countries since June 2003.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government publishes details of trade control licences issued, in its annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls. The Government's annual reports are available from the Libraries of the House and the DTI export control organisation website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/europeantrade/strategic-export-control/index.html.

Working Time Directive

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  whether it is the Government's policy to preserve the UK's opt-out from the working time directive in its entirety; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what restrictions in  (a) scope and  (b) permanence relating to the UK's opt-out from the working time directive are under consideration; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The UK Government, in common with the Governments of several other European member states, has made it clear that it would oppose any proposal for a revised directive that phases out the opt out, or that prevents individuals from choosing to work longer than 48 hours if they wish to do so.

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether any buildings in her Department fall short of disability access regulations.

David Lammy: As an employer, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is subject to duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which requires us to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. These may include adjustments to physical features of premises.
	The principle of "reasonable adjustment" is fundamental to the Act and factors such as the practicability of making an adjustment and the extent to which it overcomes the difficulties faced by the disabled person may be taken into account in determining what is reasonable. As the Disability Discrimination Act requires adjustments that are reasonable in the individual circumstances, it is not prescriptive about the level of access to buildings which must be provided for disabled people, and there are no disability access regulations made under the Act.
	However, Part M of the building regulations aims to ensure that people, regardless of disability, age or gender, should be able to gain access to, and within buildings, and use their facilities, both as visitors and as people who live or work in them. The provisions of Part M apply only to new buildings and those non-domestic buildings undergoing alteration, change of use or which are being extended. Crown-owned or occupied buildings are exempt from the building regulations but it is the Government's policy for their buildings to comply with the regulations where there is no reason not to.
	DCMS is currently undertaking a major refurbishment of our main Cockspur Street offices. We have given careful consideration to the needs of staff and visitors and are making many improvements to the building aimed at improving access for all. For example, all workstations will be fully adjustable; primary and secondary circulation routes are being widened and all will exceed the standards set by British Standard BS8300; there will be accessible signage, toilets and meeting rooms with induction loops on all floors.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria the Government used in deciding not to display the flag of  (a) the Isle of Man and  (b) Guernsey at this year's Trooping the Colour.

David Lammy: Only the flags of the Commonwealth Countries are flown at Trooping of the Colour. The Bailiwick of Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are Crown dependencies and are not member states of the Commonwealth.

Public Libraries

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many public libraries there were in each local authority in each year since 1997;
	(2)  for what average number of hours per week public libraries were open in each local authority in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The table shows the number of public libraries in England, by opening hours band, for 1997-98 to 2004-05 (the latest available) and, for context, the comparable figures for 1978-79. This data is drawn from the public library statistics report published for those years by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). The reports do not contain averaged hours.
	The figures for each of the 149 library authorities in England may be found in the CIPFA reports. Copies are held by the House Library.
	
		
			  Static libraries in England (by hours open per week) 
			   60+  45-59  30-44  10-29  <10 
			 1978-79 86 913 1,147 954 559 
			 1997-98 6 449 1,279 1,323 157 
			 1998-99 11 437 1,242 1,347 150 
			 1999-00 11 458 1,222 1,340 132 
			 2000-01 19 469 1,206 1,331 130 
			 2001-02 28 493 1,199 1,311 115 
			 2002-03 42 598 1,168 1,240 91 
			 2003-04 51 683 1,143 1,186 80 
			 2004-05 69 727 1,139 1,106 96 
			  Note:This covers a reply for parliamentary questions 799901 and 79903.

Public Libraries

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which public libraries are proposed for closure, broken down by local authority.

David Lammy: The following list details proposals where individual libraries have been named by the parent authorities. These proposals are either still subject to public consultation, possible deferral or to ratification following a trial period of extended opening hours.
	 Devon County Council
	12 closures proposed at:
	Appledore,
	Colyton Geneva,
	Bideford,
	Heavitree,
	Exeter Ipplepen,
	Kingskerswell,
	Kingsteignton Kingswear,
	Pinhoe,
	Primley,
	Sidmouth,
	Stoke Fleming,
	Shaldon
	 Dorset County Council
	13 proposed closures at:
	Burton Bradstock,
	Charmouth,
	Chickerell,
	Colehill,
	Corfe Castle,
	Corfe Mullen,
	Crossways
	Lytchett Matravers,
	Portland Underbill,
	Puddletown,
	Stalbridge,
	Wool,
	Wyke Regis
	 Hertfordshire County Council
	4 Proposed closures
	2 in the St Albans area.
	We are looking into the status of some other reported closure proposals with the authorities concerned. There have been a number of figures for such proposals in the press and media. However, we believe that some of those figures have not taken account of proposals that have been dropped or scaled down.

Hutton Report

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer from the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs of 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1268W on the Hutton Report, how many final copies of the Hutton Report were obtained by 10 Downing street; at what price per copy; and to whom they were issued.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional affairs (Harriet Harman) on 14 June,  Official Report, column 1268W.

Ministerial Meetings

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had on defence and security issues when he recently met President Chirac.

Tony Blair: I discussed a wide range of issues with President Chirac during our recent meeting, including UK/French defence cooperation and European Security and Defence Policy. I refer the hon. Member to the press conference I held with President Chirac on9 June 2006. A transcript of this is available on the Number 10 website and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Credit Unions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what help his Department has given to the credit union movement in the UK.

Edward Balls: The Government welcome the role of the credit union movement in helping to promote financial inclusion and contributing to choice and diversity in the financial services sector. The Government aim to encourage credit unions to be sustainable professional bodies so they can more effectively meet their members' needs and assist the financially excluded on a long-term basis.
	Some of the Government action to facilitate this since 1997 includes bringing credit unions under the regulatory supervision of the Financial Services Authority in 2001, and using a regulatory reform order in 2003 to allow credit unions greater operational flexibility. More recently and following consultation with the sector and consumer groups, the Government introduced legislation increasing the maximum permitted interest rate on loans, from 1 per cent. to2 per cent. per month, in order to provide flexibility to lend to more people on low incomes. In addition, credit unions are now able to offer cash ISAs.
	These measures are complemented by a £36 million Growth Fund for credit unions and other community-based lenders announced at PBR 2004, and to be administered by the Department for Work and Pensions from mid-2006.

Data Protection

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 177W, on the Data Protection Act, what longest period of time elapsed between HM Revenue and Customs  (a) receiving the administration fee and providing the information requested and  (b) receiving a request for information and providing the information requested under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs does not charge for access to personal information requested under the subject access provisions afforded by the Data Protection Act 1998.
	The average length of time HM Revenue and Customs take to reply to subject access requests is11 days. However, in an exceptional instance, that involved both an appeal and a subject access request under the Data Protection Act, the entire matter took 341 days to process.

Ministers (Tax Treatment)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the impact of the repeal of section 295 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 on the tax position of Ministers.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to repeal section 295 Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

Stamp Duty

David Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many properties sold in  (a) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and  (b) the Suffolk county council area in each of the last three years attracted stamp duty at(i) zero per cent., (ii) 1 per cent., (iii) 3 per cent. and(iv) 4 per cent.

Edward Balls: Estimates of the number of property transactions for parliamentary constituencies and counties are only available for 2004-05 and 2005-06, and are given in the following table for Bury St. Edmunds and Suffolk, grouped by stamp duty band.
	
		
			   Property transactions attracting:  
			   0 per cent. rate  1 per cent. rate  3 per cent. rate  4 per cent. rate  Total 
			  Bury St. Edmunds  
			 2004-05 430 2,200 420 50 3,140 
			 2005-06 1,300 2,200 510 90 4,100 
			   
			  Suffolk  
			 2004-05 3,500 14,000 2,100 500 20,100 
			 2005-06 8,600 10,500 2,400 420 21,900 
		
	
	The number of transactions bearing stamp duty will be lower than the number shown in the non-zero bands due to the use of various reliefs, e.g. disadvantaged area relief, group relief, registered social landlord relief etc. There are also some lease transactions which fall in the 0 per cent. band on account of consideration, but which bear stamp duty on the lease rental.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1273W, on tax credits, what data the Treasury has on the number of underpayments of tax credits which have now been paid; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: As I told the hon. Member in the answer he refers to, 'HMRC repay underpayments or offset them against any outstanding overpayments, as soon as the underpayments are recognised'. So the information is not available.

Tax Credits

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people living in mid Sussex received overpayments of  (a) child tax credit and  (b) working tax credit since April 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report,column 1421W.
	We do not produce statistics separately for child and working tax credits.

Tax Credits

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many households in  (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and  (b) Lewisham borough are receiving the Child Tax Credit;
	(2)  how many households in  (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and  (b) Lewisham borough are receiving the Working Tax Credit.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1421W.

Training Courses

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 5806W, on training courses, if he will list the courses to which the answer refers; how many people have taken part in these courses in each of the last five years; and what the cost of these courses was in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: Breakthrough has been designed to help the Department achieve its aim of increasing diversity at all levels by harnessing the potential of individuals whatever their background. As a self development programme it enables both mentors and delegates to make better use of their skills and abilities, help them in their careers and to compete more effectively for other opportunities.
	Ideally Breakthrough is looking for a mix of participants from various backgrounds on each programme. Experience has shown that there is great benefit in bringing together people from both majority and minority groups on programmes such as this.
	
		
			  Breakthrough 
			  Bids  £  Approx numbers 
			 2001-02 120,000 60 
			 2002-03 30,000 20 
			 2003-04 83,500 40 
			 2004-05 11,376 20 
			  10,765 20 
			 2005-06 Not run — 
			 Total 255,641 160 
		
	
	Other programmes include:
	
		
			£ 
			 2001-02 Personal development for men and women 27,000 
			 2002-03 Personal development for men and women 10,000 
			 2004-05 Culture 2000 29,845 
			 2006-07 DFID leadership development for women (SCS) 60,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Old Products (Former IR)( 1) 
			   Date ceased 
			 Personal Development for Women Ceased September 2002 
			 Springboard Ceased approximately November 2003 
			 Unlocking Potential ( Ethnic Minorities) Ceased approximately 2001 
			 (1 )It has not been possible to extract this data in the time given. 
		
	
	
		
			  Former Customs-PAEM( 1)  Training Events 2002 to 2006 
			  PAEM Programme  Event 
			 2002 to 2004 5 day residential event followed by 3 day residential follow-up event 
			 2005-06 2 x 1 day events, open learning package and a 1x 3 day residential event 
			 (1 )Positive action for Ethnic Minority. 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of events  Number of students  Cost per programme  Cost per student  Total cost (£) 
			 2001-02 2 23 12000 800 18,400 
			 2002-03 2 40 12000 800 32,000 
			 2003-04 (1)0 0 — — 0 
			 2004-05 2 30 8000 533 15,990 
			 2005-06 1 15 8000 533 7,995 
			 Totals 7 108 — — 74,385 
			 (1 )Product in review.

Adult Education

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many people took adult education courses  (a) funded and  (b) partly funded by his Department in (i) Lambeth and (ii) Vauxhall in the last three years;
	(2)  how many adult education courses his Department  (a) funded and  (b) partly funded in(i) Lambeth and (ii) Vauxhall in the last three years.

Bill Rammell: We do not hold information on the number of individual adult education courses that are funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) but we know the total number of learners aged over 19 on LSC funded courses in 2002/03 was £3.49 million, £3.43 million in 2003/04 and £3.46 million in 2004/05. These are national figures and include all LSC funded learners.

Child Protection

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to seek representation of military establishments on local safeguarding children boards; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) were set up in all English local authority areas by 1 April 2006. Government guidance on LSCBs forms chapter three of the revised 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' which was published in April 2006. The LSCB guidance was also published separately in December 2005 to help local authorities and their partners set up LSCBs.
	The guidance makes it clear that in addition to the statutory members of LSCBs, local authorities should secure the involvement of other relevant local organisations including,
	"in areas where they have significant local activity, the armed forces".

Connexions

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people have received support from Connexions in  (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and  (b) Lewisham borough in the past year.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department collects data on the number of interventions provided but not on the number of young people receiving support. In the year 2005-06 18,849 young people were counted in the Connexions cohort of young people in the borough of Lewisham. They received a total of 22,488 interventions. The Department does not hold this information at constituency level.
	Departmental guidance is that, to count as an intervention there needs to be some element of assistance involving a substantial or meaningful exchange with the young person. As a rule of thumb this should be of enough significance to be noted in their client record. It would normally exclude straightforward referrals to specific opportunities e.g. job submissions, the provision of factual information and simple follow up to find out if the young person still wanted assistance.

Education and Skills Committee

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action has been taken by his Department to implement Education and Skills Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 session; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department is unable to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the Government in their responses to Committee recommendations makes clear whether or not they are accepted.

Internet Plagiarism

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to Higher Education Institutions on how to respond to internet plagiarism.

Bill Rammell: We recognise that plagiarism is a serious matter. As Higher Education Institutions are autonomous bodies they are responsible for determining what advice should be provided to their students on plagiarism, in all of its forms. The Quality Assurance Agency's Code of Practice and the Joint Information Systems Committee provide advice and guidance to institutions on dealing with this issue.

Internet Plagiarism

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if his Department will consider the introduction of a proscribed list of customised essay websites in order to reduce internet plagiarism.

Bill Rammell: The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which provides advice and guidance to institutions on dealing with plagiarism, includes on its Plagiarism Advisory Service website a list of well-known European and US essay bank websites, to make academics and teachers aware of these sites. In its workshops with academic staff JISC also suggest that students are made aware that staff know of these sites and also demonstrate the poor quality of essays that are being offered.
	In addition, last November the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority appointed Professor Jean Underwood of Nottingham Trent University to advise them on further measures which might be taken in schools and colleges and by awarding bodies to reduce the risk of plagiarism from internet sources.

Internet Plagiarism

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures his Department is taking to tackle the availability of customised essay websites.

Bill Rammell: Higher education institutions, as autonomous bodies, are responsible for determining what advice should be provided to their students on plagiarism, and also what policies should be in place to detect plagiarism and determine disciplinary action. The Quality Assurance Agency's Code of Practice and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) provide advice and guidance to institutions on dealing with this issue. JISC includes on its Plagiarism Advisory Service website a list of well-known European and US essay bank websites, to make academics and teachers aware of these sites. In addition, last November the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority appointed Professor Jean Underwood of Nottingham Trent University to advise them on further measures which might be taken in schools and colleges and by awarding bodies to reduce the risk of plagiarism from internet sources.

Learning and Skills Council

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on recent trends in the  (a) provision and  (b) funding of health and safety training funded by the Learning and Skills Council.

Bill Rammell: The funding strategy that we announced last October included the decision for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to cease funding provision from 2006-07 that is rightfully the responsibility of employers, such as health and safety training. This was part of our commitment to rebalance responsibilities between learners, employers and the state as well as ensuring that we direct resources to enable those without the basic skills for employability to receive the support they need.
	Following wide consultation on these changes the LSC has considered representations from key stakeholders and has agreed to allow some local discretion in 2006/07 to provide limited support for this provision depending on the assessment of need. Where this provision is part of a coherent curriculum offer supported by a clearly stated rationale then the provision will remain eligible for LSC funding.
	The LSC is committed to carrying out an impact assessment of these changes working with key stakeholders and partner organisations. The LSC will continue to monitor the position but feedback from individual colleges indicates that many will continue to offer health and safety courses to employers, mainly on a full cost basis.

Ministerial Travel

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on foreign travel by his Department in each of the last eight years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Details of official foreign travel expenditure incurred by the Department over the last seven years are set out as follows;
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005/06 250,521.17 
			 2004/05 179,765.46 
			 2003/04 218,358.27 
			 2002/03 243,096.69 
			 2001/02 510,242.47 
			 2000/01 831,667.61 
			 1999/2000 791,181.69 
		
	
	Since 1999 the Government have published, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. This information is available in the Library. Information for the financial year 2004-05 was published on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, column 158WS. Information for the financial year 2005-06 is in the process of being collated and will be published shortly.
	All foreign travel under taken by DfES Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code".

Positive Parenting

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much his Department plans to spend on the promotion of positive parenting over the next three years;
	(2)  what measures his Department has introduced for the promotion of positive parenting in each of the last three years; and at what cost in each year.

Parmjit Dhanda: My Department, via the Parenting Fund, supports voluntary and community sector projects that enable an increase in parenting provision, and access to that provision for groups that are currently less well served. These projects provide a range of information, advice and guidance—including the promotion of positive parenting.
	Since its announcement in 2002 to date, the Parenting Fund has provided £22 million to support 154 projects. An additional £20 million will provide support from 2006-08, for a further 137 projects in23 geographic areas.

Unemployed People (Education)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department plans to take to encourage long-term unemployed people in Hartlepool constituency to return to education and training.

Phil Hope: Responsibility for encouraging long-term unemployed people return to education and training is shared between the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
	Both Departments, along with their respective delivery agencies Jobcentre Plus (JCP) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), are working closely together to ensure that long-term unemployed people have the skills they need to secure sustainable and productive jobs. There has already been significant progress in joint working between the LSC and JCP and the Hartlepool area is now covered by joint delivery planning in order to meet local employment and skills needs. As part of this joint delivery plan, the LSC Tees Valley is currently piloting access trials to enable JCP customers in receipt of allowances to access LSC-funded provision. This enables customers to continue to receive their allowances while improving their skills with recognised qualifications and improve their employability.
	The Government's Skills Strategy sends out a strong signal about the priority we attach to helping adults with few or no qualifications to attain a platform of wider employability skills. All those on jobseeker's allowance or income-related benefits and their dependants receive free tuition in further education, in addition to the support available through their local JCP office. Unemployed people also have access to in-depth advice about their education and training options through the Learndirect one-stop telephone and on-line advice service.
	The Government does, however, recognise that more needs to be done to tackle long-term unemployment and published a Green Paper in January 2006, "A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work" including measures to help low skilled adults secure employment through the New Deal for Skills. These include piloting skills coaching in a number of JCP districts and our latest evidence shows that skills coaching is helping long-term unemployed people improve their employability skills.
	In addition, the Chancellor announced in his Budget Report that Lord Leitch's review of skills would be extended to include better alignment of measures to tackle worklessness to support labour market flexibility, better employment outcomes and greater progression to productive and sustainable jobs for those with skill needs. We expect Sandy Leitch's report this autumn and my Department looks forward to working with the Department of Work and Pensions to take forward Lord Leitch's proposals.

Young Carers

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what procedures are in place  (a) to identify and  (b) to support young carers;
	(2)  what publicly funded services exist to support families with young carers;
	(3)  how many children have been identified as young carers.

Parmjit Dhanda: Anyone concerned that a child may be a "child in need", whether as a young carer or for any other reason, should refer the case to local children's services for an initial assessment. Children and their families are also able to make such contact direct.
	Section 1 of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 provides that at the time a local authority assess a person's needs for community care services or assess the needs of a disabled child, an individual who provides or intends to provide a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for that person has the right to request an assessment of his ability to provide and continue to provide care. The authority must take that assessment into account when making any decision about services for the cared for person or to meet the needs of the child, as the case may be.
	The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 ("the 2004 Act") makes three principal changes to the law with the objective of providing further support for carers and helping to ensure that they are not placed at a disadvantage because of the care they provide. First, the Act requires local authorities to inform carers, in certain circumstances, that they may be entitled to an assessment. Second, when undertaking a carer's assessment, the local authority must consider whether the carer works, undertakes any form of education, training or leisure activity, or wishes to do any of those things. The effect of this is that the local authority will have to ask the carer about those activities during an assessment, and then take this into account when making the decision about whether the needs of the cared for person call for the provision of any services by them. Third, the Act provides for co-operation between local authorities and other bodies in relation to the planning and provision of services that are relevant to carers.
	Guidance makes clear that children who are carers should routinely be assessed under the ChildrenAct 1989. The Children Act 1989 already gives local authorities a duty under schedule 2, paragraph 1(2) to publicise their services to families with children in need and to take steps to ensure that those who might benefit from the services receive the information.
	The 2001 census recorded a total of 149,942 young carers in England and Wales, of whom 24,266 were providing 20 or more hours of care per week.

Departmental Websites

Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many websites there are within her responsibilities; and what the total cost of maintaining such websites was in the last year for which figures are available.

Edward Miliband: There are 19 websites within the Department's responsibilities. The total cost of these sites for 2004-05 was £570,570.45.
	These figures exclude websites relating to the areas of policy brought within the Chancellor of the Duchyof Lancaster's responsibility at the recent Machinery of Government changes, as the future of these sites are subject to review.

32 (The Royal) Squadron

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions on which he has used 32 (The Royal) Squadron since 2001; what the approximate take-off and landing times were of each flight; whether the carbon emissions were offset in respect of each flight; which other transport options were considered for each flight; why other transport options were not used; for what official duties each flight was used; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The rules on the use of special flights are set out in Travel by Ministers. The annual lists of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500 set out when special flights are used, and the purpose of each trip. Copies are available in the Library. Special flights are only used as a last resort once all alternative transport options have been considered.

Crime Trends

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned on crime trends in the UK following the accession of EU countries in May 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: No research has been commissioned on crime trends in the UK following the accession of EU countries in May 2004. However, the Home Office does routinely monitor and publish trends in crime, as measured by the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime, on an annual and quarterly basis. The latest quarterly publication is available on the web at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0606.pdf
	This publication shows that since peaking in 1995 total BCS crime has fallen each year. The next annual publication of crime trends is due to be published in July 2006.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in each of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total number of staff in each case.

Liam Byrne: The number of staff that did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total of staff in each case, is shown in the table.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			   Number( 1)  Percentage( 2)  Number( 1)  Percentag( 2) e  Number( 1)  Percentage( 2) 
			 Home Office(3) 127 1.01 148 1.00 119 0.69 
			 Identity and Passport Service 19 0.82 12 0.57 12 0.54 
			 HM Prison Service 801 2.00 842 2.10 882 2.30 
			 (1) Of staff receiving 'unacceptable mark'.(2 )Of staff receiving 'unacceptable mark'/centrally recorded annual report marks awarded in period.(3) Including Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which Government Bills sponsored by his Department he has bid for in the next Session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which Government Bills sponsored by his Department remain to be introduced during the 2005-06 Session.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Straw) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1431W.

Police

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will postpone the merger of Cumbria and Lancashire police authorities to allow time for further consultation.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 22 June 2006
	As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, announced on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1057-58, we hope to lay the Order to provide for the merger of Cumbria and Lancashire police forces before the summer recess. This is a voluntary merger supported by both chief constables and both police authorities and we see no need for additional consultation.

Police Operation (Forest Gate)

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Cabinet Office briefing room mechanism (COBRA) considered the merits of the anti-terrorist police operation in Forest Gate on2 June 2006 in advance of the operation taking place.

Tony McNulty: The decision on whether to mount any anti-terrorist operation is an operational matter for the police. A meeting of officials was held in the Cabinet Office briefing room, at which the Metropolitan police informed relevant departments of their intention to conduct this operation and its likely scale given the public safety issues involved. Both the merits of the operation and how it was to be conducted were matters decided solely by the Metropolitan police.

Police Vehicles

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) injuries and  (b) fatalities have been recorded in London in each of the past five years which were sustained as a result of a collision involving a police vehicle; and in how many of those incidents the police vehicle was travelling above the speed limit, broken down by borough.

Tony McNulty: The available information for the numbers of casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions resulting from immediate/emergency response and police pursuits on public roads involving the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police is provided in the table. Figures are not held centrally at individual borough level.
	Figures are not held centrally on those incidents where police vehicles were travelling above the speed limit.
	
		
			  Degree of injury from road traffic collisions involving police forces in the London area 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  City of London  
			  Degree of injury:  
			 Fatal 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Serious 0 1 0 1 0 
			 Other 2 6 0 1 1 
			 Total 2 7 0 2 1 
			   
			  Metropolitan Police  
			  Degree of injury:  
			 Fatal 6 2 5 4 4 
			 Serious 40 51 14 21 23 
			 Other 628 607 (1)— 600 724 
			 Total 674 660 (1)— 625 751 
			 (1 )The Metropolitan Police are unable to provide data for 2002-03.

Security Industry

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 359W, on the security industry, when the Department expects to clear the backlog of licences.

Vernon Coaker: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has a target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system. Due to receiving a large number of late applications, the SIA currently has a backlog waiting to enter the system. This is currently adding between two and four weeks to the processing time, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications. As of 13 June there were 7,933 of applications for the manned guarding sector in this backlog. The SIA has put significant additional resources into clearing this backlog, and expect it will have been cleared by early August.

Terrorism Act

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) arrested,  (b) charged and  (c) convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000 were from (i) Coventry and (ii) the West Midlands region.

Tony McNulty: Statistics on the number of people arrested, charged and convicted under the Terrorism Act (2000) are published on the Home Office website:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism-act.
	These statistics are not however collated according to force or area.

Wheel Clamping

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set a limit on the amount that can be charged by wheel clamping companies for  (a) the removal of a wheel clamp,  (b) the recovery of a vehicle that has been removed and  (c) vehicle storage costs.

Vernon Coaker: Under the Private Security IndustryAct 2001, the Security Industry Authority has responsibility for licensing vehicle immobilisers, to help ensure that vehicle immobilisation on private land is conducted in a responsible manner. The Government have no plans to set limits on these fees.

Young Offenders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase funding to youth worker programmes dealing with the causes of crime committed by young people.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prevention programmes for those young people at risk of getting involved in crime and ASB are funded through the Youth Justice Board and delivered by local Youth Offending Teams (YOTs). The Government have recently announced an additional £45 million funding for targeted youth crime and ASB prevention activities for those young people at most risk. This increase in funding means that all YOTs now have dedicated money to spend on prevention. Programmes are delivered by a range of multi-agency staff, including youth workers, enabling a wide variety of experience and expertise to be brought together. The new funding has been allocated to local YOTs and areas are beginning to deliver new prevention services from June 2006.

Young Offenders

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the formula is by which the £45 million given to the Youth Justice Board as part of its youth prevention budget is allocated to youth offending teams.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 21 June 2006
	The overall allocation from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) for prevention programmes totals £59 million, which includes existing Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP) funding of £14 million, as well as the £45 million of additional funding. The additional funding was allocated differently in England and Wales, as the Welsh Government became involved in devising the formula for the latter.
	For the 138 YOTs in England, the allocation was based on the same funding formula as that used for the core support grant to YOTs. This formula weights each area's allocation according to the following elements: 10 to 17 population (40 per cent.); size of area (10 per cent.); six deprivation indices, including income and employment (50 per cent.).
	For the 18 YOTs in Wales, the allocation was based on a new funding formula devised by the All Wales Youth Offending Strategy Group. The formula weights each YOT's allocation according to the following elements: 10 to 17 population (50 per cent.); sparsity (low population density, leading to difficulties accessing services and greater cost of providing them) (13.33 per cent.); five deprivation indices including income, employment, health, education and housing (26.66 per cent.); caseload (10 per cent.)
	In some areas, YOTs were already receiving money for specific prevention programmes (YIPs) from an existing funding stream.
	When the new funding formula was applied, the effect in these areas would have been to reduce the overall funding allocated to prevention. To avoid this and to allow them to begin to develop additional prevention services, funding for the affected YOTs was adjusted so that they all received an amount of at least £20,000 more than they were previously receiving.

Barker Review

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for the implementation of the recommendations of the Barker Review of Housing Supply.

Yvette Cooper: The Government's plan for implementing Kate Barker's recommendations were set out in its response to the Barker Review on 5 December. I have placed a copy of the response in the Library of the House. In the response, Government signalled its ambition to provide more homes for future generations through a step change in housing policy.
	The response comprised a range of measures addressing the full range of Kate Barker's recommendations, including among others: an ambition to increase the level of housing supply to 200,000 per year over the next decade; a commitment to make Social Housing supply a priority in CSR07; a £40 million start up fund for infrastructure projects for new growth points and consultations on a Planning-gain Supplement and Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3), responses to which are currently being considered.

Biodiversity

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department plans to take to monitor the extent to which public bodies which report to her comply, from October, with their duty to conserve biodiversity in exercising their functions, under section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

Yvette Cooper: Under section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, all public bodies have a duty to have regard to the conservation of biodiversity in the exercising of their functions. There is no statutory obligation on Departments to monitor the extent to which public bodies comply with this duty. However, Defra is working with a wide range of partners to develop guidance for public bodies to support the implementation of this duty and will involve all relevant Departments on the development of guidance.

Biodiversity

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2005,  Official Report, column 2663W, on biodiversity (planning applications), what progress has been made on the incorporation of a question relating to biodiversity interests into the standard planning application form; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: We have agreed with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, English Nature and Association of Local Government Ecologists the wording of a question on bio-diversity that will be included in the standard application form for full and outline planning permission.

Biodiversity

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Minister in her Department is responsible for monitoring her Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Ministers and Government Departments have a duty to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity. This has been replaced by a similar provision under section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act which comes into effect on the 1 October 2006. There is no statutory duty to monitor compliance with this duty. However, Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessor the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have taken a number of steps to benefit biodiversity including:
	Introducing Planning Policy Statement 9 on Biodiversity and Geological Conservation and an associated guide to good practice prepared jointly with English Nature and Defra;
	Working to introduce Sustainable Community Strategies as an evolution of Community Strategies, thereby supporting Local Strategic Partnerships in placing greater emphasis on sustainability issues such as biodiversity (see the recent consultation on our website at http://www.communities.gov. uk/index.asp?id=1162320);
	Setting out, in our Sustainable Development Action Plan, our intention to issue a draft biodiversity action plan for the major non-office estate by December 2006.

Building Regulations

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures are in place to assess compliance with building regulations.

Angela Smith: Local authorities building control departments or approved inspectors, a private sector alternative, are responsible for checking compliance with the building regulations. They do this by considering written proposals, sometimes in the form of plans, and often by inspecting building works during construction. When the work has finished and they are satisfied that it complies they can issue a 'completion certificate', or when an approved inspector has been engaged, a 'final certificate'.

Building Regulations

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of levels of compliance with part L of the building regulations among building control officers; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: As part of the comprehensive review leading to the recent amendment of part L of the building regulations, my officials engaged with building control bodies and industry about levels of compliance and on ways that this could be improved. This work influenced the amendment and procedures that came into effect in April 2006 and the ongoing dissemination and training for builders and building control officers.

Coalfield Regeneration Trust

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the 50 constituencies which have received the highest level of funding from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust since its inception.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The information is not available in the form requested. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which operates throughout the English coalfields, is an independent grant giving body that seeks to spearhead the social and economic regeneration of the coalfields. Grants awarded by the trust range from small grants to local groups to larger awards that benefit coalfields more widely, sometimes at regional or national level. Grants are not constituency specific, with even small grants often benefiting areas outside of the constituency within which the group securing the grant is based. It is not therefore practicable to produce a list of constituencies which have received the highest level of funding. It should be noted that any list would change once a subsequent round of grants is released by the CRT, and therefore could significantly alter should a grant of considerable value be given to an organisation based in a constituency within a coalfield area.

Correspondence

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by how many days her Department exceeded its target for answering letters when replying to the hon. Member for Windsor's letter about Mr. D. Ashworth.

Yvette Cooper: The Department target was exceed by 47 days. The original letter was not received in the Department and only after a duplicate was received on 10 March was this seen by officials. I apologies for the unacceptable delay. The Department is putting additional resources into improving performance in this regard.

Devolution

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on progress with plans for regional devolution.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are committed to devolving and decentralising functions to the English regions and to developing and strengthening the democratic oversight of those functions. They believe a regional approach is necessary to analyse and address the causes of economic disparity; to ensure planning and investment decisions are properly integrated; and to co-ordinate sub-national issues which extend beyond the boundaries of even the largest local authority.
	To this end, they created the Greater London Authority and have recently consulted on an extension of the powers of the London Mayor and Assembly.
	Respecting the outcome of the November 2004 north east referendum, the Government have continued to support the work of the voluntary regional assemblies which comprise a majority of elected local councillors together with stakeholder representatives drawn from the social, economic and environmental partners. They have given these assemblies responsibility for scrutinising the regional development agencies established to promote economic growth; and as regional planning bodies overseeing the regional spatial strategies. Later this year, as recommended in the 2004 Barker Review of Housing Supply and again following consultation, they will give regional assemblies a new role undertaking the regional housing board function.
	In parallel, the Government have strengthened the authority and visibility of the Government offices as a facilitator of partnership working in the regions.
	Budget 2006 reaffirmed the Government's commitment to enabling cities and regions to improve their economic performance, delivering efficiency and devolving decision making.

Devolution

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her policy is on  (a) the devolution of power to the regions and  (b) the creation of directly-elected regional bodies.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are committed to devolving and decentralising functions to the English regions and to developing and strengthening the democratic oversight of those functions. It believes a regional approach is necessary to analyse and address the causes of economic disparity; to ensure planning and investment decisions are properly integrated; and to co-ordinate sub-national issues which extend beyond the boundaries of even the largest local authority.
	To this end, it created the Greater London authority and has recently consulted on an extension of the powers of the London Mayor and Assembly.
	The Government have continued to support the work of the voluntary regional assemblies which comprise a majority of elected local councillors together with stakeholder representatives drawn from the social, economic and environmental partners. It has given these assemblies responsibility for scrutinising the regional development agencies established to promote economic growth; and as regional planning bodies overseeing the regional spatial strategies. Later this year, as recommended in the 2004 Barker review of housing supply and again following consultation, it will give regional assemblies a new role undertaking the regional housing board function.
	In parallel, the Government have strengthened the authority and visibility of the Government offices as a facilitator of partnership working in the regions.
	Budget 2006 reaffirmed the Government's commitment to enabling cities and regions to improve their economic performance, delivering efficiency and devolving decision making.
	Respecting the outcome of the November 2004 North East referendum on the creation of an elected regional assembly, the Government have no current plans for the creation of directly-elected regional bodies.

Empty Properties

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which the  (a) best and  (b) worst performing councils in England are with regard to tackling empty private sector properties in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what Luton borough council's performance was in that period.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities are required by law to report on a set of national performance indicators and standards set by Government. Best Value Performance Indicator 64 measures the number of private sector dwellings that are returned to occupation or demolished each year as a direct result of action by the local authority. Information, comprising local authorities' returns for Best Value Performance Indicator 64 for 2004-05 has been placed in the Libraries of the house. In the period 2004-05, the number of empty properties brought back into use or demolished by Luton council was 11. However, the variance in the overall size of the private sector housing stock, and the proportion of these houses which can be defined as empty, will differ between each local authority area and therefore, the indicator is not a straightforward reflection of individual councils' performance.

EU Directive 2002/91/EC

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2006,  Official Report, column 751W, on EU Directive 2002/91/EC, what the timetable is for the implementation of Articles 7 to 10; and what the deadline is for implementation under the directive.

Yvette Cooper: I would draw the hon. Member's attention to the statement made to this house on14 June about implementation of the EU energy performance of buildings directive. The directive allows an additional period of three years to apply fully the requirements for energy certificates and plant inspections meaning the deadline for implementation of Articles 7 to 10 is 4 January 2009.

Flag Flying

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's policy is on flying the  (a) St. George's flag and  (b) EU flag from departmental buildings.

Angela Smith: It is the Department for Communities and Local Government's policy to follow the guidance issued by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport for flying flags on Government buildings. This includes recommending flying the St. George's Flag on St. George's Day 23 April and saying the European Flag should be flown on Europe Day 9 May on buildings with two or more flag poles, provided they are flown alongside the Union Flag with the Union Flag in the superior position.

Gypsies/Travellers

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what funding has been provided to Bedfordshire county council to accommodate Travellers in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations she has received on the funding of Travellers sites in Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what criteria are used to allocate funding for accommodation for Travellers; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We have received 5 proposals for funding by Bedfordshire county council under round 1 of the Gypsy and Traveller Sites Grant (GTSG) 2006-08. GTSG is a capital grant available through the regional housing budgets for local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs), covering both the development of new sites and the refurbishment of existing sites. Bedfordshire CC is bidding for refurbishment schemes, which are funded at 75 per cent. of the total bid.
	Bids are evaluated against the following criteria:
	Does the scheme meet a clearly assessed need?
	Does the scheme offer value for money?
	Is the site sustainable?
	Schemes must also demonstrate that they will be able to deliver to time and budget, and that stakeholders have been consulted. Another key criterion which will be used to determine whether a bid receives funding will be the extent to which schemes contribute to addressing emerging regional priorities in respect of Gypsy and Traveller provision, which is assessed by the Regional Housing Boards (RHBs).
	An appropriate package of schemes within each region has been put together by the RHBs. These are under ministerial consideration and the successful schemes will be announced shortly.

Home Information Packs

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information was included in the Home Information Pack's Home Condition Report in the trial run in Bristol.

Yvette Cooper: The Home Condition Report used in the Bristol trial run, included all the questions currently proposed in the Home Condition Report's content in the regulations but also contained a report giving a rating of the energy performance of the property using the Government approved Standard Assessment Procedure together with information about possible improvements.

Home Inspectors

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who will supervise the training and certification of home inspectors; what provision there is for ongoing training of home inspectors; and under what circumstances the approval of an inspector may be withdrawn.

Yvette Cooper: All home inspectors will be required to obtain a qualification before they can become members of a certifications scheme. That qualification must meet the National Occupational Standards for Home Inspection and be approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
	Once qualified, home inspectors can apply to become a member of a Government approved certifications scheme. Certification schemes will be required to uphold standards set by Government to ensure home inspectors are fit and proper, qualified and insured persons. Government will regularly audit the activities of certification schemes and has the power to withdraw approval if a certification scheme falls short of their statutory responsibilities.

Housing

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to encourage the development of shared ownership housing schemes in  (a) Peterborough and  (b) other growth areas; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have allocated a substantial increase in funding for the East of England for 2006-08, much of which will be invested in new affordable housing. In Peterborough, the regional housing board for the East of England (RHB) has allocated just over £19 million which is expected to deliver 572 new affordable units, via the Housing Corporation's National Affordable Housing Programme. In the other growth areas of the region, the RHB has allocated£152.7 million which is expected to deliver 6,081 new affordable units.
	The Housing Corporation is delivering the Government's affordable housing agenda in partnership with local authorities, registered social landlords and developers in developing schemes across the range of tenure which meets the needs of local people including the pathway to low cost home ownership.
	The Government's shared equity task force is currently examining other ways to increase shared ownership schemes.

Housing

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated per head of population by the Housing Corporation to  (a) the North East and  (b) London and the South East in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the funding per head based on allocations through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme for 2006-08 in relation to 2004 mid year population estimates for North East region and London/South East regions combined from the Office for National Statistics.
	
		
			   Region 
			   North East  London and South East 
			 2004 mid year population estimates (ONS) 2,545,000 15,539,000 
			 Affordable Housing Programme allocated funding 2006-08 (£ million) 82 2,444 
			 Funding per head (£) 32.22 157.28

Housing

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria the Housing Corporation used to determine bids for funds under the National Affordable Housing Programme; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation invited bids for funding from the National Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08. These were assessed for compliance with the competition requirements as follows:
	(i) Additionality—grant must be necessary for the affordable housing to be delivered;
	(ii) Rent levels in accordance with Corporation or statutory rent regimes to ensure affordability;
	(iii) Schemes must be financially independent;
	(iv) Schemes must meet or exceed the minimum standards covering design and quality (expressed through the Corporation's Scheme Development Standards, Housing Quality Indicator system, and a Very Good EcoHomes rating);
	(v) Scheme must start on site by 31 March 2008;
	(vi) Schemes must complete before 31 March 2011;
	(vii) Scheme must conform to the relevant regional housing board priorities;
	(viii)Schemes must meet management and maintenance standards (for housing associations schemes must comply with all of the Corporation's regulatory requirements in relation to the management and maintenance of affordable homes);
	(ix) Bidders must have the capacity to enter into a programme agreement.
	Bids which met these competition requirements were then subject to competitive assessment using four criteria:
	Value-for-money;
	Quality;
	Fit with regional and local housing strategies;
	Deliverability within the programme time scale.
	The compliance requirements and criteria were set out in the Housing Corporation's pre-prospectus and prospectus published at the time of launch of the bidding round in July 2005.

Housing

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes have been built by Wirral borough council in Wirral West since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Wirral borough council has built no new dwellings in Wirral since 1990. Total development (by the private sector and Registered Social Landlords) in Wirral west constituency since 1997 has totalled 1,032 gross new build dwellings (20.7 per cent. of the borough total of 4,992 gross new dwellings).

Housing

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average house price was in  (a) Wirral West and  (b) Wirral borough area on 30 April in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes quarterly information on average house prices for local authority areas on our website at: http://www.communities .gov.uk/ embedded_object.asp?id=l 156155
	For the Wirral, the average house prices for the past five years in the second quarter of the year, excluding sub-market sales, are given as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Quarter 2:  Wirral  Merseyside 
			 2001 73,532 69,582 
			 2002 85,023 77,573 
			 2003 98,677 90,407 
			 2004 125,327 116,309 
			 2005 140,163 128,293 
			  Source: Land Registry 
		
	
	The Department hold no datasets for Wirral West.

Housing

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the resources available to district councils in housing expansion growth areas to process large-scale planning applications.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities in the growth areas have received £75,770,362 in total Planning Delivery Grant since 2003 to help them deal with major applications and other planning requirements. They also receive funding of £7,000,000 annually to support local delivery vehicles in the major growth locations, some of which directly help with handling big schemes.

Housing

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new affordable housing units were completed in (a) Dudley,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) England in each year since 2000.

Yvette Cooper: According to information provided by local authorities the number of new affordable housing units completed is as follows. These numbers include both homes for rent, shared ownership, and other affordable private sector homes. They include homes funded by the Government and those funded by the private sector under SI06 agreements negotiated by local councils.
	
		
			   Dudley  West Midlands  England 
			 2000-01 154 5,216 44,971 
			 2001-02 85 2,858 29,806 
			 2002-03 137 2,789 28,826 
			 2003-04 50 2,864 32,605 
			 2004-05 103 3,410 33,154 
			 2005-06(1) 157 4,717 46,529 
			 (1) Figures for 2005-06 are forecasts as at April 2005 because local councils have not yet supplied actual data for 2005-06.

Housing

Mark Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the future of arm's length management organisations in council housing.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the final bidding round of the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) programme and launched the publication of the outcome of the ALMO review, which sets out how Government sees the long term future of ALMOs, and a discussion paper setting the decent homes programme in its broader context in a written statement to the House on Wednesday 7 June.

Housing

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to increase the number of dwellings available for low-cost home ownership.

Yvette Cooper: The Government aim to help an additional 100,000 households into home ownership from 2005-10. We are implementing a number of measures to boost housing supply and deliver more affordable housing. This includes increased investment of £970 million being provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme in 2006-08 for low cost home ownership schemes to help 35,000 new homeowners get their first step on the home ownership ladder and bringing forward more public sector land to increase the supply of new homes.
	The Shared Equity Task Force, led by myself and John Healey, has been established to examine further ways to increase the number of people able to benefit from shared equity products. The task force will report by the end of 2006 to inform decisions on the comprehensive spending review in the summer of 2007.
	In addition, the Government intend to publish a revised "Planning Policy Statement for Housing" (PPS3) later this year to improve the delivery of both market and affordable housing through the planning system.

Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes have been built by Coventry borough council in Coventry South since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 22 June 2006
	Coventry city council has not built any new homes since 1997. New provision of affordable housing is now delivered through the Governments Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) which primarily funds housing associations who can lever in additional independent borrowing.

Social Housing (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made towards the decent home standards for social housing in Coventry South; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 22 June 2006
	The information is as follows:
	 Social housing and Decent Homes in Coventry City
	It is not possible to provide separate information about social housing in Coventry South.
	There is no social housing in the ownership of the city council because of the transfer in September 2000 of all the council housing (around 20,000 dwellings) to the Whitefriars Housing Group under the large-scale voluntary transfer (LSVT) arrangements.
	The Housing Corporation, which has a regulatory role for RSLs, monitors progress towards the Decent Homes target for this sector of social housing.
	The Housing Corporation began collecting local authority area-based data about levels of decency in RSL social housing stock in 2005.
	This data showed that at March 2005 there were 23,665 social homes in the city of Coventry owned and managed by RSLs, and that just over 6,000 (26 per cent.) of these did not meet the Decent Homes standard at that time.
	The Housing Corporation is satisfied that the 32 RSLs with social housing stock in the Coventry area are on target to meet the Decent Homes target in 2010.
	 Whitefriars Housing Group
	The Whitefriars Housing Group is by far the largest social landlord in Coventry, with 17,075 dwellings in March 2005, making up 72 per cent. of the total social housing in the city.
	The council's decision in 2000 (supported by a tenant ballot) to transfer the council housing stock was driven by the need to access new sources of funding. A stock condition survey had shown that the investment requirement at that time to bring the housing up to modern standards was £250 million and the council was unable to identify the necessary resources.
	At the time of the stock transfer the Decent Homes standard had not been developed, but in March 2004 approximately42 per cent. of the Whitefriars homes were identified as non-decent. By March 2005 this level had been reduced to27 per cent., when only 4,593 homes failed to meet the standard.

Social Housing (Coventry)

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans there are to build more social housing in the West Midlands.

Yvette Cooper: The Government award Regional Housing Pot funding to each region in England and asks Regional Housing Boards to recommend how the funding should be allocated in accordance with the Regional Housing Strategy. In the West Midlands, 2006-08 Regional Housing Pot funding has been allocated to fund provision of an additional 2,683 homes for social rent.
	In addition, it is expected that further homes for social rent will be provided under SI06 agreements negotiated between local councils and developers in accordance with Government policy.

Mayor of London

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to publish the Government's response to the consultation on the powers of the Mayor of London.

Phil Woolas: The Government aim to publish the Government's response shortly.

Northern Way

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what responsibility she has for the Northern Way initiative.

Yvette Cooper: The Northern Way is an ambitious pan-regional growth strategy being driven by the three northern regional development agencies and their partners. It aims to close the £30 billion output gap between the north and the England average and its work will therefore play an important part in delivering Government's regional economic performance PSA target.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government co-ordinates the Government's involvement with the Northern Way. Alongside Treasury and DTI, the Department works closely with the Northern Way to help them develop their plans and facilitates their engagement with the other Government Departments. The Department also match funded the regional development agencies' contribution to create a £100 million growth fund for pilot projects exploring innovative ways of increasing economic growth in the north.

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance  (a) the Government and  (b) the Standards Board for England has issued to local authorities on the predetermination of decisions.

Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government has issued no guidance of the sort mentioned. In addition, the avoidance of predetermination is not an issue explicitly mentioned in the model code of conduct for local authority members, and so would not be an issue for the Standards Board. As far as determining planning applications is concerned, the Standards Board does provide specific guidance relating to members' personal and prejudicial interests. The Local Government Association published guidance in January this year 'Probity in Planning: The role of Councillors and Officers'. This gives propriety guidance to members of planning committees to help avoid accusations of predetermining applications.

Planning

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she issues to local authorities on the assessment of risks from flooding when considering planning permissions for new basement properties in London near to the River Thames.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 12 June 2006
	The Government's guidance to planning authorities on development and flood risk is set out in 'Planning Policy Guidance Note (PPG) 25'. This advises that planning applications in flood risk areas are always accompanied by a flood risk assessment, and that the Environment Agency is consulted. Flood risk areas are those mapped by the Agency as being at risk from river and tidal flooding, but sites outside such areas can also be at risk due to local topography, for example at the foot of hills where storm-water runoff may overwhelm sewers. Flood risk assessments should address the source of flooding, its potential extent, depth and speed of inundation and its likely impact on the development during its lifetime, taking climate change into account. They should demonstrate how the risk will be managed and identify any residual risk (the risk remaining after flood defences have been taken into account). Proposals for the development of new properties with basements would have to demonstrate (to the satisfaction of the Environment Agency and the Local Planning Authority) that the residual risk to the development and its occupants was acceptable. In addition, the introduction of basement accommodation into a flood risk area should also not materially increase the flood risk to other properties or occupants. The new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 25 that we intend to issue this autumn will strengthen this advice.

Rushenden Link Road

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to announce the timetable for  (a) the funding and  (b) the building of the Rushenden Link Road.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 16 June 2006
	The information is as follows.
	 (a) Following the announcement that £12 million had been allocated to the Rushenden Link Road (bringing the total investment to £19 million) discussions are continuing, with the South East England development agency (SEEDA), to complete the Department's internal appraisal requirements and agree the final funding package.
	 (b) Responsibility for the build programme rests with SEEDA with the works being undertaken by Kent county council (KCC). Forecast start date for construction on site is June 2007. This is dependent on the adoption of the masterplan and receipt of planning permission.
	My officials in the Thames Gateway Delivery Unit will update you when the formal funding agreement has been issued.

Secured by Design

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to achieve the aims of the Secured by Design initiative through the planning process.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have issued detailed planning guidance on planning and crime prevention in England. "Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development" (PPS1), published in 2005, places strong emphasis on the role of planning in helping to create safe and sustainable communities. Planning authorities are asked to have robust policies which address crime prevention issues in their development plans. Crime prevention is also capable of being a material planning consideration in the consideration of planning applications.
	In applying the policy in PPS1 we have asked planning authorities to have regard to the guidance we have published in "Safer Places: The Planning System and Crime Prevention" (Office of the Deputy Prime Minster/Home Office, 2004). This offers detailed guidance on the lay-out of all buildings and spaces to reduce the risk of crime, including, where appropriate, the incorporation of target hardening measures such CCTV in new development.
	"Safer Places" advises that in designing and considering development proposals, the physical protection of development by using 'target hardening' principles such as Secured by Design should be considered. The guidance also highlights a number of examples of best practice involving 'Secured by Design' principles and urges all involved in the planning and design of buildings and environments to work closely with police architectural liaison officers or crime prevention design advisors.
	Alongside this guidance we are also examining how best to incorporate measures to improve the security of new homes. Compliance with Secured by Design standards is one of the options being considered.

Under-Value Property Disposals

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which "best consideration" decisions for disposing of property at an undervalue have been  (a) refused and  (b) permitted by the Secretary of State further to the Local Government Act 1972 in each year since 1977.

Yvette Cooper: Data on local authority land disposals at less than best consideration made under the Local Government Act 1972 is not available centrally for the whole of this period. The revised General Disposal Consent issued in 2003 requires disposals with an undervalue of more than £2 million to receive the specific consent of the Secretary of State. There have been no cases under the current General Disposal Consent where consent has been refused. Consents given by the Secretary of State since the introduction of these arrangements are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Local authority  
			 2003 Birmingham City Council Freehold disposal of land at Haden Circus, Birmingham, to provide a site for a sixth form college. 
			 2003 Kirklees Metropolitan Council Freehold disposal of land at Shepherds Grove, Deighton, Huddersfield, for residential development. 
			 2004 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Freehold disposal of undeveloped land at Foxdown, Hampshire, for residential development. 
			 2004 Manchester City Council Leasehold disposal of land at One Central Park, Newton Heath, Manchester, for a science park, education and research facilities. 
			 2005 London Borough of Greenwich Leasehold disposal of a school site in Abbey Wood for a City Academy school. 
			 2006 Buckinghamshire County Council, Aylesbury Release of Green Belt Act 1938 Covenant at Berryfields.

Village Pubs

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will take steps to strengthen controls preventing village pubs from being bought and closed down by property speculators;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on Government policy on planning as it affects village pubs.

Yvette Cooper: Government policies in relation to planning for village pubs are set out in planning policy statement 6: Planning for Town Centres (PPS6) and planning policy statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (PPS7).
	PPS 6 asks local planning authorities where appropriate to adopt policies that enhance the vitality and viability of rural service centres, such as villages. In considering proposals for new development, local authorities should take into account the likely impact of the new development on services that are important to the local community.
	Local planning authorities are also asked to consider the scale of new leisure development, including pubs, and its likely impact on the character and function of a village, for example in terms of antisocial behaviour, crime and the amenities of residents.
	PPS7 supports the PPS6 policy approach to enhancing the viability of village services, including village pubs. It advises local planning authorities to support the retention of valuable local facilities and to set out in their local development documents the criteria they will apply in considering planning applications that would result in the loss of important village services.
	The planning system cannot control the closure of a business or the sale of land or premises. Planning permissions relate to the use of land, and ownership is not a relevant consideration. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, as amended, allows a change of use from A4 (drinking establishments) uses to A3 (restaurant and cafes), A2 (financial and professional services), and A1 (shops). A change to any other use would require planning permission.
	If a pub is converted to a use other than those described, without planning permission, local planning authorities have a wide range of discretionary enforcement powers to enable them to deal with unauthorised development. It is for the local planning authority to decide in each case which is the most appropriate course of action.
	The Government have no plans to control the buying and selling, or closure of village pubs. The use to which land and premises are put is a matter for individual land owners, so long as the necessary consents are in place.

West Midlands Regional Assembly

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for provision of further powers to the West Midlands regional assembly.

Yvette Cooper: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 210W.

Benefits Claimants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were in receipt of  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
	The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Income support (IS) and IS minimum income guarantee (MIG) caseloads: Great Britain each November 1997 to 2005 
			  November  All IS  MIG  Non-MIG 
			 1997 3,956,100 1,673,700 2,282,400 
			 1998 3,842,000 1,614,500 2,227,500 
			 1999 3,843,900 1,591,300 2,252,600 
			 2000 3,928,900 1,669,800 2,259,200 
			 2001 3,985,500 1,727,000 2,258,500 
			 2002 3,994,800 1,750,500 2,244,300 
			 2003 2,232,800 13,000 2,219,800 
			 2004 2,177,900 10,800 2,167,100 
			 2005 2,136,700 9,600 2,127,100 
		
	
	
		
			  Pension credit caseloads: Great Britain each November 2003 to 2005 
			  November  Number 
			 2003 2,084,700 
			 2004 2,629,580 
			 2005 2,708,050 
		
	
	
		
			  Income based jobseeker's allowance (JSA(IB)) caseloads: Great Britain each November 1997 to 2005 
			  November  Number 
			 1997 1,041,300 
			 1998 951,200 
			 1999 856,300 
			 2000 743,400 
			 2001 663,500 
			 2002 635,300 
			 2003 599,300 
			 2004 565,700 
			 2005 647,900 
		
	
	
		
			  Housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB) caseloads: Great Britain each November 1997 to 2005 
			  November  HB  CTB 
			 1997 4,546,650 5,393,820 
			 1998 4,382,390 5,221,710 
			 1999 4,147,870 4,959,480 
			 2000 3,900,620 4,674,580 
			 2001 3,818,400 4,608,390 
			 2002 3,796,260 4,577,690 
			 2003 3,806,590 4,666,910 
			 2004 3,943,900 4,897,500 
			 2005 3,975,230 4,993,000 
			  Notes:  1. PC/HB/CTB figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  2. IS/JSA(IB) figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  3. HB/CTB figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.  4. HB figures exclude any extended payment cases.  5. CTB figures exclude any second adult rebate cases.  6. JSA(IB) figures and IS figures for November 1997 and 1998 are derived by applying 5 per cent. proportions to 100 per cent. WPLS data and are therefore subject to sampling variation.  7. Some JSA(IB) claimants may also have entitlement to benefit via the contributory route.  8. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  9. Pension credit replaced MIG on 6 October 2003 10. Overlaps between benefits have not been removed.   Source:  DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS); Information Directorate 5 per cent. samples; and Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in November 1997 to November 2005.

Army Recruitment

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent trend he has identified in levels of recruitment to the Army.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Dunne).

Cadet Forces

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the contribution cadet forces make to the wider community.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps his Department has taken to support the cadet forces.

Tom Watson: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Mrs. Moon).

Porton Down

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals were used in scientific tests at Porton Down in each of the last three years, broken down by species.

Adam Ingram: Dstl Porton Down submits annual returns to the Home Office detailing the number of procedures undertaken which involve the use of animals as defined in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
	The annual returns to the Home Office for the years 2003 to 2005, by species, are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005 
			 G. Pig 653 506 661 
			 Ferret 0 42 60 
			 Hamster 70 0 0 
			 Mouse 12,645 14,737 20,016 
			 Pig 131 80 127 
			 Rabbit 22 12 3 
			 Rat 355 320 195 
			 Sheep 0 0 2 
			 Cattle 0 1 0 
			 Non-human Primate 23 30 54 
			 Total 13,899 15,728 21,118 
		
	
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 May 2006,  Official Report, column 41W, to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South, (Mr. Hancock).

Priory Group

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many service personnel have been treated by the Priory Group in each year since the contract with the Group began; and how many have subsequently  (a) returned to duty and  (b) been discharged;
	(2)  for what reasons the Priory Group was selected as the sole provider of in-patient psychiatric healthcare service; and which other companies applied to be considered;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the treatment provided by the Priory Group for service personnel; and what criteria he used to make that assessment.

Tom Watson: holding answer 19 June 2006
	We assess that the Priory Group provides an excellent in-patient psychiatric service based on an individual's clinical needs. Service liaison officers routinely visit the Group's hospital units where we have in-patients to ensure that our arrangements are working effectively in terms of patient care and treatment, including attending ward rounds that involve service patients; the service liaison officer also acts as a "service advocate" for the patient. They also meet regularly with Priory representatives to discuss treatment and best practice. We assess the contractual elements of our agreement with the Priory Group at quarterly meetings held between the MOD and the Priory Group. Both the service liaison officer and contract meetings examine the Priory's performance against the particular performance indicators of the contract. Furthermore, the MOD's Directorate of Healthcare monitors, on a daily basis, case management and financial components of the contract.
	The MOD's requirement for the provision of in-patient mental healthcare was advertised in the "Official Journal of the European Communities" and the "MOD Contracts Bulletin". Four companies—The Priory Group Ltd., Cygnet Healthcare Ltd., Affinity Healthcare, and Selrack Consulting—expressed an interest in the requirement. They were then invited to an Industry Day, in order to give them a better understanding of the requirement and to enable them to discuss with MOD in more detail what they would be able to provide. Following the exchange of information at the Industry Day, the MOD decided that Selrack Consulting would be unable to provide the services required and therefore invited the three remaining companies to tender. The Priory Group Ltd. and Cygnet Healthcare Ltd. submitted bids. The bid from The Priory Group Ltd. best met our requirements to provide high-quality mental health inpatient care nationwide, without delay, and within easy reach of unit, base or home.
	The contract with the Priory Group commenced on1 December 2003. Reception of service patients by the Priory Group's inpatient facilities was phased-in between 1 December 2003 and April 2004. This phase-in period allowed MOD and the Priory Group to develop interoperable working procedures and the MOD the opportunity to gradually enhance its community-based mental health teams.
	Since the beginning of the contract, The Priory Group has admitted 730 service personnel for in-patient treatment. This can be broken down by year as follows:
	
		
			   Number of patients 
			 2003-04(1) 58 
			 2004-05 321 
			 2005-06 351 
			 Total 730 
			 (1 )From l December 2003. 
		
	
	While an individual's medical record will show their medical history, at present, we do not hold centrally a collated set of records specifically limited to former patients who have returned to duty or have been discharged following treatment at the Priory. However, we have started a study into the medium to long-term prognosis of former patients who were discharged from Priory care between the 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2005. This will help to enhance our understanding of the long-term effectiveness of the treatment they received.

Warhead Option Studies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed  (a) by his Department and  (b) at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston on warhead option studies; what the purpose is of these studies; and what their cost is.

Des Browne: There is no programme to develop a new UK nuclear warhead. As was stated in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, we retain a minimum capability to design and manufacture a new warhead, should one be required. Work by officials is under way to prepare for decisions on the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent and also to keep options open in advance of these decisions.
	A number of people are involved in this work but it is not possible precisely to distinguish between staff employed in support of this work and those involved in sustaining the existing Trident warhead, and neither it is possible separately to identify costs.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government have taken to ascertain whether genocide or attempted genocide is being committed in Burma.

Ian McCartney: In co-operation with other Governments, the UN, other humanitarian organisations and non governmental organisations, we scrutinise evidence of human rights abuses we receive from a wide range of sources. There are credible reports of large-scale human rights abuses in Burma.
	Our assessment is that there is currently insufficient evidence to establish that the intent to commit genocide exists. We shall continue to confer with the UN and international partners to ascertain whether genocide or attempted genocide is being committed in Burma.

Human Rights

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the establishment of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the UN's effectiveness in upholding human rights.

Kim Howells: The new UN Human Rights Council has the potential to improve on the work of its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, in addressing pressing human rights issues around the world today. The UN General Assembly resolution establishing the Council provides for some significant improvements, including: more frequent meetings each year, at least three meetings per year for at least10 weeks in total, which should allow the Council to address human rights issues more systematically; a new system of universal periodic review, under which the human rights record of each UN member will be reviewed; a higher election threshold for election to the Council; a wider-ranging mandate; and a more central place within the UN system, better reflecting the importance of human rights. At the same time, we expect that it should preserve some of the strengths of the Commission, including proper provision for the participation of non-governmental organisations. But, much will depend on member states' commitment to making a success of the new Council, and it is the responsibility of all UN members to ensure that it can work more effectively than its predecessor.

Human Rights

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was discussed at the inaugural session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Kim Howells: The first session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) opened in Geneva on 19 June and will continue its discussions until 30 June. The session began with an inaugural ceremony, at which the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of the UN General Assembly gave speeches on the establishment of the HRC and their expectations for its work. The Nobel Peace Laureate of 2004, Wangari Maathai, also spoke.
	The first week of this first meeting of the HRC (19-22 June) was devoted to a "high level segment" allowing Ministers from UN member states to make statements on their expectations for the Council. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, represented the UK on Tuesday 20 June. In his speech, he called for all to work together towards an effective HRC. Non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions will have the opportunity to address the Council at this inaugural session. We expect the agenda for the further work of the session to be presented for agreement towards the end of this first week.

Japan/South Korea

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department spent in each of the last five years on building links between the UK and  (a) Korea and  (b) Japan in the (i) science, (ii) engineering and (iii) innovation sectors.

Ian McCartney: Since 2000, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been improving its links on Science, Innovation and Engineering in Japan and South Korea through a dedicated network of Science and Innovation Officers. This has been as part of the Government' overall science strategy. The FCO has spent the amounts listed on promoting Science, Innovation and Engineering in Japan and South Korea. Since the FCO does not promote Science, Innovation and Engineering separately the figures relate to spending on all three of these areas.
	The figures are displayed by country, year and the type of spending. The staff costs given relate to the full economic costs of employing the science officers working in each country in a given year. The number of science officers employed in each country is given in brackets next to the staff costs.
	
		
			  Japan 
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			  2001-02  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 20,300 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 12 science and innovation officers) 1,620,364 
			 Total 1,640,664 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 17,700 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 12 science and innovation officers) 1,673,584 
			 FCO programme budget spending 29,000 
			 Total 1,720,284 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 20,000 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 12 science and innovation officers) 1,717,432 
			 Global opportunities fund projects 62,000 
			 FCO programme budget spending 20,000 
			 Public diplomacy challenge fund 223,000 
			 Total 2,042,432 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 23,000 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 13 science and innovation officers) 1,755,044 
			 Global opportunities fund projects 254,000 
			 FCO programme budget spending 3,000 
			 Total 2,035,044 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 23,700 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 13 science and innovation officers) 1,996,272 
			 Global opportunities fund projects 327,000 
			 FCO programme budget spending 23,000 
			 Total 2,369,972 
		
	
	
		
			  South Korea 
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			  2001-02  
			 Administration and entertainment costs (1)— 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 5 science and innovation officers) 283,410 
			 Chevening scholarships for science and technology 255,000 
			 Total (excluding administration costs) 538,410 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 5,700 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 5 science and innovation officers) 292,718 
			 Chevening scholarships for science and technology 185,000 
			 Total 483,418 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 6,000 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 5 science and innovation officers) 300,387 
			 Chevening scholarships for science and technology 180,000 
			 Total 486,387 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Administration and entertainment costs 6,700 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 5 science and innovation officers) 306,966 
			 Chevening scholarships for science and technology 106,000 
			 Total 419,666 
			   
			  2005-06 
			 Administration and entertainment costs 3,000 
			 Staff costs (full economic cost of 5 science and innovation officers) 313,381 
			 Chevening scholarships for science and technology 74,000 
			 Global opportunities fund projects 50,000 
			 Total 440,381 
			 (1) Figures not available.

Renditions

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any  (a) known and  (b) suspected al-Qaeda operative found in the UK since 1997 has been rendered to the US.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to my right. hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary's (Mr. Straw) written ministerial statement of 20 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 37-38WS, which summarises the position in respect of renditions through UK territory or airspace since May 1997.

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many working days have been lost to the Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The average number of working days lost through sick absence since 2000, the year from which reliable records were held, and the estimated cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is as follows:
	
		
			   Days  Cost (£) 
			 2000 2.87 1,103,794.80 
			 2001 4.55 1,823,124.68 
			 2002 4.88 2,091,575.58 
			 2003 5.59 2,626,479.90 
			 2004 6.18 3,096,696.68 
		
	
	Data for 2005 is not yet available.

West Papua

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Department has received on behalf of the people of West Papua; and what representations she has made on their behalf to the Government of Indonesia.

Ian McCartney: In recent months, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received a small number of letters from members of the public and hon. Members about Papua. There have also been a few parliamentary questions tabled. My hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Ian Pearson) held a meeting with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Papua on 16 March. Some civil society representatives interested in Papuan issues also attended that meeting.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not made any representations about Papua to the Government of Indonesia. However, our embassy in Jakarta discusses Papua with the Indonesian authorities. During his visit to Indonesia on 29-30 March, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister expressed the UK's support for dialogue between the central Government and representatives of the Papuan people. The UK supports the territorial integrity of Indonesia. We believe that full implementation of existing Special Autonomy legislation is the best way to proceed towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous Papua.

Education

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  who will be responsible for ensuring that actions to support greater sharing in education under the Triennial Action Plan for A Shared Future are monitored;
	(2)  what powers he has to ensure that all educational partners in Northern Ireland meet the requirements of the Policy and Strategic Framework for Good Relations: A Shared Future?

David Hanson: The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister is responsible for monitoring the actions flowing from the Triennial Action Plan of A Shared Future.
	The Shared Future Triennial Action Plan, published on 27 April 2006, sets out ministerial commitments and actions in relation to A Shared Future. Specific actions are set out to promote greater sharing in education.
	The commitments and actions are underpinned by existing duties and obligations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 as amended.

Energy Prices

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the effect of gas prices on Northern Ireland industry.

Maria Eagle: As a result of increased prices in world energy markets, gas prices have increased across the UK in recent months.
	On 30 January my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela E. Smith), announced the introduction of competition for natural gas users in the Phoenix licence area of Greater Belfast and Larne. This will be introduced on a phased basis to all customers by 1 January 2007 and end the monopoly position held by Phoenix. Competition elsewhere has provided consumers with increased choice of supplier, greater transparency, improved customer service and a downward pressure on the price of gas.
	In March 2006 my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a further five year exemption from 2006-11 from the climate change levy for natural gas industrial and commercial users in Northern Ireland. This will improve competitiveness and save £20 million over the five year period. It makes natural gas a more competitive fuel and encourages the uptake of gas which facilitates the roll-out to domestic customers in ten towns outside the greater Belfast and Larne area.

Knives

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been  (a) fined and  (b) imprisoned for illegally selling knives to under 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: During the period 1994 to 2003, there were no convictions for the offence of 'unlawful sale of a knife to person under 16'. Data beyond 2003 is not yet available. Data is collated on the principal offence rule, thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included. The Government are concerned by the issue of knife crime and is attaching high priority to finding ways in which the law can be strengthened and enforced in respect of illegal possession and sale of knives.

Policing Board

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the attendance record was for  (a) elected and  (b) non-elected members of the Policing Board of Northern Ireland at (i) full Policing Board meetings and (ii) Policing Board committee meetings in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The following tables detail Policing Board members' attendance at Board and Committee meetings and were supplied by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
	
		
			  Members attendance at policing board meetings 
			  Member  2003  2004  2005  Total (Possible) 
			 Alex Attwood 9 11 11 31 (34) 
			 Denis Bradley (Vice Chairman)(1) 10 11 8 29 (34) 
			 Viscount Brookeborough(1) 8 10 9 27 (34) 
			 Joe Byrne 9 12 11 32 (34) 
			 Fred Cobain 10 10 8 28 (34) 
			 Brian Dougherty(1) 9 9 8 26 (34) 
			 Sam Foster 10 12 11 33 (34) 
			 Barry Gilligan(1) 10 10 11 31 (34) 
			 William Hay 7 10 8 25 (34) 
			 Tom Kelly(1) 6 7 7 20 (34) 
			 Lord Kilclooney 5 6 3 14 (34) 
			 Pauline McCabe(1) 10 13 9 32 (34) 
			 Alan McFarland 10 13 9 32 (34) 
			 Eddie McGrady 6 8 7 21 (34) 
			 Rosaleen Moore(1) 7 10 9 26 (34) 
			 Ian Paisley (Jnr) 8 11 10 29 (34) 
			 Desmond Rea(1) (Chairman) 10 13 11 34 (34) 
			 Suneil Sharma(1) 8 8 7 23 (34) 
			 Sammy Wilson 10 12 10 32 (34) 
			 (1 )Appointed by the Secretary of State in 2001 as Independent Members. Note:The total number of Board meetings that it would have been possible for each Member to attend is shown in brackets. 
		
	
	
		
			  Members attendance at policing board committee meetings 
			  Member  Attendance details  2003 (1 January to 31 May) (Possible)  2003 (1 June to 31 December) (Possible)  2004 (Possible)  2005 (Possible)  Total (Possible) 
			 Alex Attwood CA 4 (5) — — — 37 (54) 
			  CI — 4 (5) 7 (9) 7 (10)  
			  F&GP — 2 (4) 5 (7) 6 (6)  
			  F&R 1 (2) — — —  
			  P&PR — 0 (3) 1 (3) 0 (0)  
			
			 Denis Bradley(1 )(Vice Chairman) CA 3 (5) — — — 51 (63) 
			  CI — 4 (5) 8 (9) 7 (10)  
			  CP 6 (6) 5 (6) 11 (11) 7 (11)  
			
			 Viscount Brookeborough(1) A&BV — 3 (3) 3 (5) 2 (2) 49 (82) 
			  CA 4 (5) — — —  
			  CM 1 (2) — — —  
			  CI — 3 (5) 7 (9) 7 (10)  
			  CP 1 (2) 0 (1) 7 (9) —  
			  F&GP — 1 (4) 2 (7) —  
			  HR — — 2 (6) 5 (11)  
			  A&RM — — — 1 (1)  
			
			 Joe Byrne A 1 (1) — — — 38 (47) 
			  A&BV — 3 (3) 3 (5) 2 (2)  
			  CA 3 (5) — — —  
			  CI — 5 (5) 7 (9) 8 (10)  
			  P&PR — 3 (3) 2 (3) 0 (0)  
			  A&RM — — — 1 (1)  
			
			 Fred Cobain A 0 (1) — — — 50 (65) 
			  A&BV — 2 (3) 5 (5) 2 (2)  
			  CP 6 (6) 3 (6) 9 (11) 10 (11)  
			  F&R 0 (2) — — —  
			  F&GP — 3 (4) 6 (7) 3 (6)  
			  A&RM — — — 1 (1)  
			
			 Brian Dougherty(1) A 1 (1) — — — 50 (58) 
			  CA 4 (5) — — —  
			  CI — 4 (5) 8 (9) 8 (10)  
			  CP 4 (4) 4 (5) 2 (2) 10 (11)  
			  P&PR — 2 (3) 3 (3) 0 (0)  
			
			 Sam Foster A 1 (1) — — — 57 (60) 
			  CI — 5 (5) 8 (9) 9 (10)  
			  HR — 6 (7) 11 (11) 11 (11)  
			  P&GP 6 (6) — — —  
			
			 Barry Gilligan(1) A&BV — 3 (3) 4 (5) 2 (2) 71 (84) 
			  CP 4 (4) 3 (6) 9 (9) —  
			  F&GP — 3 (4) 7 (7) 5 (6)  
			  F&R 2 (2) — — —  
			  HR — 7 (7) 8 (11) 9 (11)  
			  P&GP 5 (6) — — —  
			  A&RM — — — 0 (1)  
			
			 William Hay CA 4 (5) — — — 58 (76) 
			  CI — 4 (5) 8 (9) 9 (10)  
			  CM 2 (2) — — —  
			  HR — 4 (7) 9 (11) 7 (11)  
			  HR&PS — 2 (2) 6 (9) 3 (5)  
			
			 Tom Kelly(1) A 1 (1) — — — 12 (33) 
			  CM 2 (2) — — —  
			  CP 0 (6) 2 (6) 3 (11) 0 (1)  
			  P&PR — 2 (3) 2 (3) 0 (0)  
			
			 Lord Kilclooney A&BV — 0 (3) 0 (5) 0 (2) 3 (33) 
			  CA 2 (5) — — —  
			  F&R 1 (2) — — —  
			  P&PR — 0 (3) 0 (3) 0 (0)  
			  A&RM — — — 0 (1)  
			
			 Pauline McCabe(1) CA 5 (5) — — — 81 (90) 
			  CP 6 (6) 5 (6) 10 (11) 9 (11)  
			  HR — 7 (7) 11 (11) 11 (11)  
			  HR&PS — 2 (2) 5 (9) 4 (5)  
			  P&GP 6 (6) — — —  
			
			 Alan McFarland CM 2 (2) — — — 35 (43) 
			  F&GP — — 3 (4) 4 (6)  
			  HR — 5 (7) 2 (2) —  
			  HR&PS — 2 (2) 8 (9) 3 (5)  
			  P&GP 6 (6) — — —  
			
			 Eddie McGrady CM 2 (2) — — — 52 (87) 
			  CP 2 (6) 2 (6) 8 (11) 6 (11)  
			  HR — 4 (7) 5 (11) 4 (11)  
			  HR&PS — 2 (2) 9 (9) 5 (5)  
			  P&GP 3 (6) — — —  
			
			 Rosaleen Moore(1) CM 2 (2) — — —  
			  CP 2 (2) — 2 (2) 10 (11) 67 (81) 
			  F&GP — 4 (4) 6 (7) 3 (6)  
			  F&R 1 (2) — — —  
			  HR — 5 (7) 9 (11) 10 (11)  
			  HR&PS — 2 (2) 7 (9) 4 (5)  
			
			 Ian Paisley (Jnr) A 0 (1) — — — 29 (52) 
			  CA 4 (5) — — —  
			  CI — 4 (5) 3 (9) 6 (10)  
			  HRPS — 0 (2) 5 (9) 2 (5)  
			  P&PR — 3 (3) 2 (3) 0 (0)  
			
			 Desmond Rea (Chairman)(1) CA 2 (5) — — — 35 (39) 
			  CPC 6 (6) 6 (6) 11 (11) 10 (11)  
			
			 Suneil Sharma(1) CA 3 (5) — — — 41 (67) 
			  CI — 5 (5) 8 (9) 6 (10)  
			  CP — — — 1 (10)  
			  HR&PS — 1 (2) 6 (9) 4 (5)  
			  P&GP 3 (6) — — —  
			  P&PR — 3 (3) 1 (3) 0 (0)  
			
			 Sammy Wilson A&BV — 2 (3) 2 (5) 0 (2) 50 (70) 
			  CP 6 (6) 4 (6) 8 (11) 5 (11)  
			  F&GP — 4 (4) 7 (7) 6 (6)  
			  F&R 2 (2) — — —  
			  P&GP 4 (6) — — —  
			  A&RM — — — 0 (1)  
			 (1 )Appointed by the Secretary of State in 2001 as Independent Members. Notes:1. The total number of Committee meetings that it would have been possible for each Member to attend is shown in brackets.2. This list excludes sub-committees, working groups, ad hoc groups, briefings etc. This list also does not reflect the attendance of members on committees of which they were not formally members—including as deputies for absent colleagues from the same political grouping. Key:A—Audit CommitteeA & B V—Audit and Best Value CommitteeA & RM—Audit and Risk ManagementCA—Community Affairs CommitteeCI—Community Involvement CommitteeCM—Complaints Monitoring CommitteeCP—Corporate Policy CommitteeF & G P—Finance and General Purposes CommitteeF & R—Finance and Resources CommitteeH R—Human Resources CommitteeH R & P S—Human Rights and Professional Standards CommitteeP & PR—Press and Public Relations Committee

Road Traffic Accidents

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2006,  Official Report, column 540W, on road traffic accidents, how many road traffic accidents there were in the years covered for which a police officer was responsible; how much has been paid out in compensation to members of the public for such accidents; what the total cost of repairs to police vehicles was in relation to such accidents; how many officers have been disciplined for such incidents; and what sanctions were imposed.

Paul Goggins: My response to the hon. Gentleman of 11 May 2006 referred to road traffic collisions for which a police officer was responsible while on duty and covered the calendar years 2003-05. The following table is also based on these parameters and shows how many road traffic collisions there were during 2003-05 for which an on duty police officer was responsible. None of these collisions resulted in disciplinary action being taken against the police officer involved. The total cost of repairs to police vehicles during the period 2003-05 was £257,634.92.
	
		
			  Calendar year  Number of collisions 
			 2003 82 
			 2004 (1)141 
			 2005 (1)161 
			 Total 384 
			 (1) The definitions used for police collisions were revised in 2004 and a third category of collision was added—'Slight Contact'. This has resulted in some incidents being recorded which previously may not have been which accounts for the increase in the number of incidents for 2004 and 2005. 
		
	
	The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not collate or hold figures relating to the amount of compensation paid to members of the public in respect of these collisions.

Waste Recycling

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of waste from Government Departments in Northern Ireland was recycled in the last period for which figures are available.

David Cairns: Data has not been collected in this form. However, waste management action plans have now been prepared for all 11 NICS Departments in accordance with a requirement of the recently published "Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland". Copies of these documents may be found in the Library.
	The first round of monitoring of Departments' performance against their plans will take place at the end of the first year.

Adverse Drug Reactions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people admitted to hospital with adverse drug reactions.

Andy Burnham: The most recent estimate of the burden of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the United Kingdom (UK) comes from a study published in the  British Medical Journal in July 2004. The study conducted in two large hospitals in Merseyside, suggested that ADRs account for one in 16 hospital admissions. This is a similar estimate to a number of studies worldwide, including figures from the United States of America.
	This study highlights the importance of effective systems for monitoring and responding to issues relating to the safety of medicines, a process called pharmacovigilance. This study, which was funded by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), underlines their commitment to improving the evidence base for pharmacovigilance in the UK.
	As part of this commitment, the MHRA is working to strengthen the yellow card scheme for reporting suspected ADRs and has widened access to the scheme to enable patients to report ADRs directly.
	This study also highlights the vital importance of safety information which meets the needs of prescribers and patients. The MHRA/committee on safety of medicines publication "Always read the leaflet" proposed actions to improve risk communication, including development of a leaflet for patients published by the MHRA. The commission on human medicines has established a working group to examine ways to improve the provision of safety information accompanying medicines.
	Changes to medicines legislation introduced in 2005 were also designed to enhance the capability of regulation to reduce the burden of adverse drug reaction, for example in the requirement on marketing authorisation holders to develop risk management plans for newly licensed medicines.

Alcohol Treatment Services

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to increase  (a) access to and  (b) capacity of specialist alcohol treatment services; and what plans she has (i) to respond to and (ii) to implement recommendations arising out of the departmental alcohol needs assessment research project.

Caroline Flint: Commissioning of specialist alcohol treatment services is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs). The Department has issued to PCTs 'Alcohol Misuse Interventions: Guidance on Developing a Local Programme of Improvement'. It provides practical steps on improving interventions and services for problem drinkers based on local need. It will be supported by the soon to be published 'Models of Care for Alcohol Misuse' (MOCAM), which will provide commissioners with a framework against which to commission effective, quality services. MoCAM is informed by an extensive effectiveness review, which will be published as a companion document.

Child Sexual Abuse

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services for children who have been sexually abused are funded by her Department; and what mechanisms are in place to provide liaison between services funded by her Department and those provided by other funding streams.

Ivan Lewis: Specialist services including treatment for sexually transmitted infections, termination of pregnancy and mental health services are available for those children who need them as a result of sexual abuse. For children with less severe mental health problems, it is more appropriate for universal services to provide the psychological support they need than for them to be referred to specialist child and adolescent mental health services.
	It is important that child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are developed in a way that is responsive to the needs of the populations they serve. The CAMHS standard of the children's national service framework (NSF) sets out the requirement for an assessment of the needs of particular groups of children in the locality who are vulnerable or at risk. The NSF also states the commissioners and services should be able to demonstrate multi-agency partnership working in the following areas: the provision of services to children and young people who may or may not have been harmed, as set out in "Working Together to Safeguard Children"; contributing to the assessment of complex child abuse cases; the assessment and provision of post-abuse therapeutic services; and services for looked after and adopted children.
	The Department has been working closely with the Home Office to develop sexual assault referral centres (SARCs). A SARC is a one-stop location where victims of rape and sexual assault can receive medical care and counselling, and have the opportunity to report to the police and undergo a forensic examination. The joint Department of Health and Home Office National Service Guidelines for Developing Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) was published in October 2005.
	Since 2003, £1.27 million from the Home Office's Victims Fund has been spent on new and existing SARCS. The Department has an important role in allocating these resources as departmental officials are on the committee that make grant assessments. SARCS currently operate in 14 locations in England and Wales and there are six more due to open in the forthcoming year.
	The Department and the Home Office are supporting the development of appropriate services for children within existing or new SARCs. St. Mary's SARC in Manchester has established a service for children. In London, Project Amethyst was piloted in 2005-06 jointly by local police and health to provide services for children in association with the three London SARCs (the Havens in Camberwell, Whitechapel and Paddington). A number of the new SARCs scheduled to open will be providing services for children.

Community Hospitals

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department plans to assess the effect on the number of community hospitals of primary care trust deficits; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: There are no plans to assess the effects of primary care trust (PCT) deficits on the provision of services in community hospitals. Commissioning decisions are of course for local determination. However, the White Paper "Our Health Our Care Our Say" makes it clear that community facilities, including community hospitals, should not be lost in response to short-term budgetary pressures in PCTs that are not related to the viability of the community facility itself. Therefore, no community hospitals should be closed solely as a result of national health service PCT budget deficits.
	A letter was sent to strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 16 February, which concerned the commitment relating to community hospitals, made in paragraphs 6.42 and 6.43 of the aforementioned White Paper. This letter provided instruction on how SHAs should go about ensuring and testing, that PCTs comply with the commitment made. A copy of this letter is available in the Library.

Drug Tariffs

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process her Department used to determine the proposed 15 per cent. price decrease for chemical reagents in the Drug Tariff Part IX consultation; and what steps she is taking to ensure transparency in the consultation.

Andy Burnham: The Department has undertaken an analysis of the reimbursement prices on the drug tariff for chemical reagents and as a result, has concluded that the national health service and the taxpayer may not be obtaining value-for-money at the current reimbursement levels. Further details are available in the consultation document 'Arrangements for the provision of dressings and chemical reagents to primary care: A consultation' which is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/ClosedConsultations/fs/en A copy has been placed in the Library.
	Where specific information has been required from manufacturers as part of the consultation, the Department has provided clear guidelines as to what was required. The Department has held meetings with manufacturers and their representative trade body, with NHS representatives and with patient groups. In addition, a meeting was hosted to brief hon. Members on 21 June 2006.

General Practitioners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there were in Coventry, South constituency  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of general practitioners (GPs) within the area covered by the current West Midlands, South strategic health authority in each year since 1997, and within Coventry teaching primary care trust (PCT) each year since 2001, the earliest date for which figures are available.
	
		
			  All general medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars( 1) , for specified organisations, 1997 to 2005 
			   West Midlands, South  Of which:  Coventry PCT 
			 1997 859 n/a 
			 1998 867 n/a 
			 1999 873 n/a 
			 2000 870 n/a 
			 2001 884 174 
			 2002 897 173 
			 2003 928 172 
			 2004 959 184 
			 2005 1,013 187 
			 n/a = Data not applicable(1) General medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars, includes contracted GPs, general medical service (CMS) others and personal medical service (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners. Note:Data as at 1 October 1997- 2000 and 30 September 2001-2005 Source: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Health Treatment Centres

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of her Department's budget was spent on the establishment of independent sector treatment centres in each year since 1997; what proportion of the budget for the establishment of such centres was spent on the employment of management consultants in each year; and what proportion of each budget she expects to be spent in each category in 2006-07.

Ivan Lewis: The independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme was launched in December 2002 and figures for the establishment of ISTCs are not available prior to 2003. The percentage of the Department's budget that was spent on the procurement of ISTCs was 0.03 per cent. in 2003-04; 0.05 per cent. in 2004-05; 0.04 per cent, in 2005-06 and it is estimated to be 0.05 per cent. for 2006-07. Much of the work of this programme is done through consulting staff so the proportion of these costs estimated to have been spent on management consultants is 84.6 per cent., 67.4 per cent., 59.3 and 60 per cent., respectively.

Mental Health

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided by her Department for research into the  (a) prevention,  (b) treatment and  (c) cure of dementia in each of the last three years; whether she has made an assessment of the research funding provided by other EU countries; and if her Department will increase the priority for those purposes it gives to such research.

Ivan Lewis: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation. Recent levels of MRC expenditure on research into dementia(1) have been as follows:
	(1 )Including Alzheimer's disease, general dementia. AIDS related dementia, Pick's disease and Huntingtons.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 6.6 
			 2003-04 7.4 
			 2004-05 not yet available 
		
	
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service. National research programme expenditure on projects related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementia has been:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 1.6 
			 2003-04 1.1 
			 2004-05 0.6 
		
	
	The Department has not made international comparisons of research spend in this area.
	The Department has set up and is investing £20 million in a national research network on dementias and neurodegenerative disease. The network will bring together NHS staff and resources to expand the number and range of clinical trials of medical treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, the funders' forum for research on ageing and older people will shortly begin the process of mapping the profile of ageing-related research and identify gaps. This work will help the Department, and other funders, to decide on research priorities.

Mental Health

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department collects data on the regional and socio-demographic profile of people with dementia; whether she has made a comparison of the prevalence of dementia in the UK with other EU countries; what plans her Department has for monitoring changes in the number of people with dementia; and if her Department will  (a) estimate the costs to the NHS of dementia and  (b) assess the economic effect on those affected by dementia and their carers.

Ivan Lewis: Data on the regional and socio-demographic profile of people with dementia is not collected centrally and the Department has not compared prevalence of dementia in the United Kingdom with other European Union countries.
	The Department is currently looking into the process of collecting information on older people with mental health needs, including people with dementia, and the services which support them.
	NHS employers have announced changes to the new general medical services contract for 2006-07. New indicators are being introduced to the quality and outcomes framework for 2006-07 and include the introduction of a disease register of patients diagnosed with dementia.
	The Department has not made an estimate of the costs to the national health service of dementia and an assessment of the economic effect on those affected by dementia and their carers.

Ministerial Visits

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits to NHS hospitals  (a) she and  (b) each of her Ministers made between 4 April and 13 June; and which hospital was visited in each case.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Between 4 April and 13 June 2006 the Secretary of State for Health visited the following national health service hospitals:
	4 April 2006—Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool;
	4 April 2006—Liverpool Royal Infirmary, Liverpool;
	4 April 2006—North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary, Stoke on Trent;
	1 June 2006—Lewisham University Hospital, London; and
	2 June 2006—The Whittington Hospital, London.
	The Minister of State for Reform visited Chase Farm Hospital, London on 8 May 2006.
	The Minister of State for Delivery and Quality visited the following hospitals:
	31 May 2006—The Princess Royal Hospital, Orpington;
	1 June 2006—Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading;
	1 June 2006—Salisbury Hospital, Salisbury; and
	1 June 2006—Yeovil District Hospital, Yeovil.
	The Minister of State for Health visited the University College Hospital, London on 11 May 2006.
	The Minister of State for Public Health visited the Crawley Hospital, Crawley on 11 April 2006.

National Radiotherapy Advisory Group

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group has met; when the next meeting will be; what the group's terms of reference are; when the group will report; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The national radiotherapy advisory group (NRAG) has met five times and will meet again in the autumn. We expect NRAG to report later this year.
	The terms of reference is as follows:
	to advise on the development and delivery of radiotherapy services, including relevant elements of the NHS Cancer Plan and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance
	to advise on radiotherapy policy programmes including:
	demand and capacity for radiotherapy;
	streamlining service delivery;
	future developments;
	service quality;
	equipment requirements; and
	training and work force requirements.

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on 
	(1)  what basis redundancies and site closures relating to NHS Direct were made; and what effects on costs these had;
	(2)  how many  (a) redundancies and  (b) site closures have been made in relation to NHS Direct.

Rosie Winterton: NHS Direct began a 12-week consultation period with staff and staff side representatives on 16 May 2006 on proposals to ensure that its organisational structure, estates and staffing are fit for purpose to meet future developments and demand. The consultation period is due to end on 16 August 2006. The outcomes of the consultation will be made public thereafter.
	The NHS Direct consultation document proposes that 12 sites will close over the next 18 months. Implementation of the proposals will be dependent on a number of factors but the current estimate is that a maximum of 573 posts could be at risk of redundancy. However, these proposals are subject to the outcome of the consultation. A more precise estimate of the costs saved will be made on completion of the consultation.

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many telephone advisers were employed by NHS Direct in each year since it was set up; and how many telephone advisers will be employed in each of the next two years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on this is not centrally held. The information may be available from the chairman of NHS Direct Special Health Authority.

NHS Service Contracts

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which US companies have been awarded contracts for the delivery of NHS services; and what the value was of such contracts.

Ivan Lewis: The Department itself has awarded no contracts to United States' companies for the delivery of national health states services and does not collect information about contracts which are agreed locally between primary care trusts and providers.

NHS Treatment (Funding)

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps an NHS clinician can take if funding for a treatment they deem to be most clinically appropriate is refused by their primary care trust;
	(2)  whether a primary care trust may refuse funding for a treatment that has been deemed most clinically appropriate by an NHS clinician.

Andy Burnham: The responsibility for local health services is for primary care trusts (PCTs) who are responsible for the planning and development of services to meet the needs of their local populations. Where no guidance or directions have been issued to PCTs, that are relevant to a treatment, PCTs should make their decision on funding based on their own assessment of the relevant factors and circumstances of the case. If a clinician is unhappy with the decision of a PCT they should request a full explanation of the rationale behind the decision in the first instance, and the PCT should seek to engage the clinician in dialogue with regard to treatment options.

Nurses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of professional misconduct were  (a) reported and  (b) upheld against nursing staff trained and qualified outside the United Kingdom in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: Incidences of professional misconduct are reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the relevant statutory independent regulator who deals with them under its fitness to practise procedures. Queries regarding this should be made directly to the Chief Executive at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, 23 Portland Place, London, W1B 1PZ, telephone number: 0207 637 7181,

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS services will not be contained within the commissioning scope of practice-based commissioning.

Andy Burnham: The services specifically excluded from the commissioning scope of practice based commissioning are:
	core general medical services and personal medical services; and
	specialised services, services commissioned regionally and nationally and national screening programmes.
	These services are excluded from the scope of a practice's indicative budget as outlined in "Practice based commissioning: achieving universal coverage" (January 2006) which is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/74/25/04127425.pdf
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Private Prescribing

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the guidance issued by her Department's Medicines, Pharmacy and Industry Group on procedures for the private prescribing of schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs, in what areas of the country general practitioners will be permitted to use the new FP10PCD prescription forms once registered with their local primary care trust.

Andy Burnham: FP10PCD prescription forms are for use by all prescribes, including general practitioners issuing private prescriptions (non-national health service activity) for schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs, where these drugs are to be dispensed by a community pharmacist. From 7 July 2006, their use will become a statutory requirement.

Prostate Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about the pilot prostate cancer awareness campaign; and when the campaign will be rolled-out nationally.

Rosie Winterton: Raising the public awareness of prostate cancer is one of the key challenges for the future. We want men to know what their prostate is, what it does, and what can go wrong with it. However, we have to raise awareness in a responsible way so as not to cause undue anxiety and worry, and also not to overwhelm national health service services when there is no clear clinical benefit.
	Through the work of the prostate cancer advisory group, chaired by the National Cancer Director Professor Mike Richards, a pilot public awareness programme on the prostate has been developed. The pilot is jointly funded by the Department and signatories to the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action. The Department is providing £100,000 for the pilot.
	ContinYOU, a community learning charity based in Coventry, were successful in being appointed to run the pilot following a formal tendering exercise. ContinYOU are currently holding focus groups with different groups of men to assist in designing the programme, which is due to run in September 2006 in Coventry.
	A formal evaluation of the pilot will be undertaken, assessing the effectiveness of the intervention tools used in raising awareness of the prostate and the impact of the pilot on NHS services.
	If the evaluation proves that the pilot is successful, consideration will be given on how best to roll the pilot out across the NHS.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations her Department made to the European Commission regarding the inclusion of rheumatoid arthritis as a priority area of EU Framework Programme 7.

Andy Burnham: At the Competitiveness Council held on 30 May 2006, a general approach was agreed on the seventh framework programme high level text. A general approach is a political agreement, which allows Ministers to agree in principle to a text that has yet to be considered by the European Parliament. The United Kingdom Government have supported the inclusion of arthritis as one of the priority diseases named in the agreed text.